


I Just Want A Normal Life Pt.2

by Anime_fangirl823



Series: I just want a normal life [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Cuban Lance (Voltron), Depression, Domestic klance, Established Keith/Lance (Voltron), Fluff and Smut, Gay Keith (Voltron), Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Keith & Lance - Freeform, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Klance smut, M/M, Please Don't Hate Me, Plot With Porn, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Sex, Social Anxiety, klance happy ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-07-18 19:05:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 32,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16124813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anime_fangirl823/pseuds/Anime_fangirl823
Summary: Keith and Lance are planning their wedding, but when he starts to see ghosts of his past, he feels like he is going crazy. But is he going crazy or is he actually seeing the real thing?





	1. The Halloween Party

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Y'all, I'm back, did you miss me? Anywho, here is the first part.  
> ~Keith~

The rain pitter-pattered on the window as I sat in our room playing monsters and mana. Although we had already defeated the game twice, it was fun to try out the different character styles. Besides I hated waiting for Lance to get home from the castle of lions, it was getting later and later every night, so I needed something to get my mind off of it.

I couldn’t take it anymore, my eyelids were so heavy it felt like I was trying to lift weights with them. I laid my head down on my pillow and slowly drifted off into dreamland.

*It was the day of our wedding, everything was perfect from the flowers to the cake. Lance still wouldn’t let me see him, so I was stuck hanging out with Hunk and Shiro for the next half hour.

Suddenly everything shifted, I was somehow standing at the altar. The music started playing as Lance walked down the aisle. But nothing seemed right, everything was starting to go blurry and I could feel myself slipping from the platform, but I didn’t hit solid ground, no, I fell into a pair of arms. I thought maybe it was Shiro or Hunk that had caught me, but when I turned around all I could see were those grey-blue eyes.

I pushed him away and fell even further, this time the ground completely disappearing, leaving me falling into a black void. Lance’s face came into view over the edge of the void, almost like I was sinking into an endless lake. I could faintly hear him yelling for me, the sound of his voice gargled. I cried out, screaming for someone, anyone to come save me, but I just kept falling, the others fading slowly into the abyss.*

Lance’s voice was suddenly crystal clear, “Keith, buddy, it’s okay, you can open your eyes, I’m here, I’m home.”

My eyes opened slowly, an upside down Lance was staring back at me humming our song as he rubbed my forehead. He leaned down and planted a kiss on my lips. “Better?” He asked with a smile.

I smiled faintly back at him, heart still racing from the nightmare I just had. “I think so, but maybe you could give me another one of those, just for good measure of course.”  
He giggled as he leaned down and kissed me again, the warmth washing away my fears like they were a distant memory. At least if things were going to be like this I had Lance by my side through it all.

“Okay, but for real, I need to get some sleep, tonight was murder on my feet and I just want to sleep it off.” I sat up so he could reposition himself on the bed, laying himself behind me and pulling me in close. Now I could finally sleep soundly.

~The next Morning~

Hunk and Pidge were coming over to help with wedding plans, we were getting the invitations ready today, so we were going to need all the help we could get.  
We all sat at the table. Lance was writing them out, I was signing them, Hunk was sticking them in the envelopes, and Pidge was licking them shut. Pidge and I kept cracking jokes at some of the names on the invitations, and Lance kept telling us to take things seriously.

“Come on guys, that one wasn’t even that funny.”

“No, you just don’t have a good sense of humor,” Pidge clapped back.

I high fived her and Lance just stared daggers at the two of us. It was nice to know that I could have fun like this, that I didn’t have to worry about the threat of being blackmailed, or kidnapped, or… It was just nice. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to feel this way, but thanks to therapy, and moving into a new apartment with Lance, it was easy for me to let down my walls and enjoy my life.

“Don’t forget we all have the Halloween party at Shiro’s tonight and don’t you dare think about skipping out, they just moved into their new house, the least we could do is show up. Oh and don’t forget to dress up.” Lance said as the others were getting their jackets on.

“We know mom,” Pidge said sarcastically.

“Rude, you little gremlin.”

“Bye, see you guys later tonight,” Hunk smiled.

“Bye guys,” Lance and I said waving them out the door.

He closed the door and turned back to me, “Now that we finally have some alone time…” He stepped closer placing his arms around me. “What would you like to do?”

“Sorry babe, but I have an appointment I have to get to.” His bottom lip puffed out. “But, I have to stop at the pharmacy on my way home, how about I get you your favorite?”  
His pout turned back into a smile, “Okay, but tonight I get you all to myself, right?”

“Of course,” I smiled as I grabbed my jacket from behind him. “I love you and I’ll see you in an hour or so.”

“I love you too, don’t you ever forget that.”

The drive over to the therapist's office was a bit long, there had been an accident down one of the main roads, cars lined up for a good mile or so. Luckily I had left early, so I wasn’t in too much of a rush. I turned up the radio to drown out the sounds of cars honking and engines being revved in anger. The station I was listening to came on with a breaking news story…

“Today at the Daibazaal prison, a young man stabbed two guards and a fellow prisoner before he was taken down. One of the guards is in critical condition while the other was admitted for a stab wound to the back, as for the prisoner, we are unsure of his status at the moment. They will not be releasing any of their names until all families have been notified.”

Diabazaal? Isn’t that where they sent James? I shook my head trying to get his image out of my thoughts. I really needed this appointment today, with the dream last night and now this whole thing at the prison.

“Keith, Dr. Sanda will see you now.” The receptionist pointed me down the hallway like I hadn’t been coming here for the last year now.

I walked into the room to find Karen watering her plants. “Hey, Karen!”

“Ah, Keith, come in and have a seat, I’m almost done,” She said with a smile before turning back to her plants. “How have you been this week, is the wedding prep going well?”

“Yeah, it’s going good, we actually just got our invitations done today, speaking of which, I have this one here for you.” I pulled the invitation from my jacket pocket and placed it on her desk.

“Perfect,” She said sitting down. “Now tell me, how has your sleeping been, have you been having any more night terrors?”

I scratched at the back of my neck, all though I loved having someone to talk to, it was still hard for me to talk about these things. “Well, I had an episode last night, Lance actually had to calm me down when he got home from work.”

“Okay, let’s talk about that, what happened in this dream?” She leaned over her desk as I told her everything that had happened.

“And then I was just sinking into an abyss of darkness until Lance’s voice cut through and pulled me out of the nightmare.” I started to pick at the sides of my thumb again, not really aware that I was doing it until… “Agh, dammit.” I had picked it too far and it started to bleed.

She handed me a tissue. “Have you been picking at your thumbs again?”

“No, it’s just that… well with the dream last night, and the thing I heard on the radio today…”

“What did you hear?” She interrupted.

I sighed, “There was this story I heard on my way here, apparently two guards and an inmate were stabbed by one of the other inmates, and it all happened at the prison James was sent to.” Dammit, I didn’t want to say his name out loud, I hated hearing that name come out of my mouth, it felt like a bad word, you know you shouldn’t say it, but sometimes it slips out and all you can do is regret it.

“Remember what I said, don’t give him power over you, it’s okay to say his name out loud,” She said reassuringly.

“I’m sorry, I just… every time I hear his name out loud it triggers something in the back of my mind, I can’t control it, and I feel like if I say it out loud it’s going to consume my life.” I hid my face in the palms of my hands.

She came over and slowly placed her hand on my back, kneeling down in front of me. “Keith, don’t worry, it’s going to take a lot longer than a year of therapy to undo the things he did you, but that’s why I’m here, to help you figure out ways to cope with it and to get past it so you can have a somewhat normal life.”

I looked down, “I have to get past it, I can’t let my past affect my future.” My fist tightened. “I need to do this, not only for myself but for Lance as well, he’s not going to want to stick around much longer if I’m like this forever.”

“Remember not to be so hard on yourself, you matter to a lot of people, including Lance.” She stood back up and sat in the chair across from me. 

“I know, I’m just not used to having someone in my life who actually wants me… for me. Everything is so new to me, I feel like I can’t get my hopes up like I can’t get attached because everyone leaves at some point, and why would Lance be any different, I’m sure he’ll find a reason just like the rest of them did.” I felt a single tear escape down my cheek.  
She shifted swinging her right leg over her left. “Have you told Lance about your fear?”

“Well… I mean kind of.” I was dodging the question, I hadn’t actually told him about my fear of him leaving, my fear that I would lose him some day and never see him again just like everyone else in my life.

“Talk to him about it, tell him about your fear, you can’t expect to get past it if you don’t talk to him about it.”

“I know, I will.”

She looked up at the clock. “It looks like it’s time, I’ll see you again next week?”

“Definitely.”

I made my way back to the house to get ready for dinner, stopping into the pharmacy to pick up my meds, and to get Lance his favorite. I finally made it home and when I walked in, the apartment smelled amazing, which meant that Lance was baking something. I dropped all of my stuff and rushed to the kitchen, the smell only getting stronger the closer I got.

He was dancing around to his favorite Latin song as he pulled out some things that looked like cupcakes, or maybe muffins. “Mmm, what are you making?”  
I tried to take one but Lance smacked my hand away. “Don’t you dare, these pumpkin cream cheese muffins are for the party, and the party only.”

I crossed my arms and planted myself in the chair next to him, he giggled as he pulled each one from the tin and set them on his cooling racks. “Come on pouty McGee, let’s go get dressed and I might let you taste test one when they’re cooled.”

My eyes lit up, “I knew I loved you for a reason.”

He smiled when I said those words, he always smiles when I say that, and every time he does my heart skips a beat. I never thought anyone would love me the way he does, especially after… but that doesn’t matter, only Lance matters from this point on.

“Oh here’s your treat,” I said handing over the bag from the pharmacy.

“Yes! A big bag of skittles and an energy drink, now I’ll be good and ready to stay up all night.” 

We got ready, Lance picked out our couples costumes. I was going to be Ash and he was going to be Pikachu, he even got himself the headband with the ears. I finished painting the red dots on his cheeks and snuck a little kiss before pulling away, the rest of his cheeks turning just as red as the paint.

“You’re a sneaky one Kogane.”

“I know, but you love it,” I teased.

We headed out, after I got my test muffin that is, and got in the car to head to Shiro and Adam’s place. Lance was so nervous when everyone decided to part ways, he thought everyone was going to stop talking and our group would disband, so he pushed everyone to do things like this, go to parties and have dinners.

Shiro greeted us at the door, Hunk and Shay had already shown up along with Allura, Coran, and Maggie. Hunk was dressed up as Jake from state farm and Shay was Flo from progressive, Shiro and Adam were two pieces of bread one with peanut butter and one with jelly, Allura was dressed as Harley Quinn, Coran was Tuxedo mask from sailor moon, and Maggie was the pink power ranger.

“Nice costumes guys, I always loved me some pokemon,” Hunk said as we walked over to him and Shay.

“Thanks, I’m in love with your costumes, did you come up with that or did Shay?” Lance asked.

“It was me, Hunk said it didn’t really matter, but since we're a couple now I figured we should start dressing that way,” She smiled leaning over and placing her head on his shoulder. I had never really realized how tall she was until she was standing next to Hunk.

Lance laughed, “Yeah Hunk, start acting like a couple, it only took me an hour this time to convince Keith on our outfits.”

“At least they’re not like last years costumes.” I thought back to the year before when he told me he wanted to be a hockey player and I should dress up as the Stanley Cup, because I was his “trophy boyfriend”.

“That was a good idea and you know it,” He gasped.

Pidge finally showed up, she and Beezer just had a white trash bag on over their clothes that had white trash written on it. Lance wasn’t impressed, but she didn’t seem to care as she walked right past him.

It was finally time to eat, I had been starving all day, the only thing I had eaten was that test muffin Lance had given me before we left. We all sat down and Shiro and Adam began to make a toast.

“I’m glad you all could make it tonight, this day means a lot to me as it was this time fourteen years ago that my parents adopted Keith, and it’s also his birthday.” I looked up from my plate, he never said anything about this, he knows I hate parties. 

“Shiro,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Oh come on, can’t I just throw you one birthday party in your life, besides, it was mostly Lance’s idea.”

Lance gasped dramatically, “I thought we agreed we weren’t going to tell him it was a birthday party, now he’s going to glare at me all emo-y... look, he’s already doing it.”

“Well, there’s actually one more reason for this party. Although things didn’t work out with my parents… I am grateful that they left Keith in my care, and it only provided me with the knowledge to have my own kid. We will be adopting our own child within the next couple of months.”

I nearly fell back in my seat, “What, are you serious?”

“Yep, we’ve been on the waitlist since before we got married and they think we will be able to adopt soon.” He said with a big smile.

I got up and ran over to him throwing my arms around him. “I’m so happy for you, and I promise I will be the best uncle ever, I’ll teach him or her to work on cars, and throw knives…”

“Keith, no,” Lance shrieked.

“What?” I said looking over at him.

“Dude, you can’t teach a kid how to throw knives, you can wait until they’re an adult.”

Shiro stepped in, “How about we not teach them that at all.”

“Fine,” I sighed defeated.

The party was going good, everyone was laughing and having a good time while I slipped away down the hall, I had to clear my head, too much human interaction just tires me out. I walked past all the rooms, Shiro and Adams, the bathroom, the guest room until I reached the back bedroom. It was stripped down to bare walls, except for a couple of buckets of paint in the back corner.

A pair of footsteps crept up behind me stopping at my side. “Are you doing alright?” Adam asked.

“Fine, I just needed to slip away for a bit,” I replied. “So, is this going to be the babies room?”

“Baby, kid, teen, but yes this will be their room.”

I turned to look at him. “Wait, you guys aren’t just going to adopt a baby, I thought people only ever wanted a baby, not an older kid.”

“Well, what if we find the perfect, funky, little eleven-year-old,” He smiled.

“Pfft, did you just…”

“Yeah, I did.” We both laughed. “But I’m serious, we don’t want to rule out any child just because of their age, it’s not fair, that and it means a lot to Takashi. You were the best thing to ever happen to him, you helped him become the man he is today.”

I looked back to the ground, the sound of music from the living room filling in the silence between us. I didn’t make Shiro anything if anything he made me the person I am today, not the other way around. “I… I don’t think I did any of that.”

“Well, you did, even if you didn’t feel like you were helping him, you were. We probably wouldn’t be together if you wouldn’t have told him to tell his parents.”

“Yeah, but if he wouldn’t have told them they might still be around, he wouldn’t have lost them forever.” I don’t know why I was trying to talk myself out of this, I just couldn’t believe that I changed his life for the better.

He placed his hands on my shoulders, “Keith, if he wouldn’t have, he would be miserably stuck in a relationship he didn’t want, with someone he wasn’t even attracted to, just to make them happy. Because of you, he gets to be happy, he gets to have the life he has always wanted, and he gets to be with someone he, I hope, loves.” He chuckled at the last part. “In other words, because of you, he can live his life the way he wants not how his parents want.”

I did all that? I couldn’t believe it, did I actually help him the way Adam was telling me I did? I wrapped my arms around him, squeezing a bit harder than I wanted, but dammit I had never felt this happy in my life. Not only did I have the best big brother, but now I had two of the best brothers and soon a niece or nephew.

Another set of footsteps came up behind us, a pair of strong arms wrapping around me, the warmth as Shiro pulled both of us in. “How much of that did you hear Takashi?” Adam asked.

“All of it, and he’s right Keith, I wouldn’t be happy if it weren’t for you, You mean the world to me and I love you, no, we love you.” His grip tightened, Adam sniffling into his shoulder.

“Annnd, I’m done,” I said slipping out from under them. “I think it’s about time to, umm, head back to the party, what do you guys think?”

They both smiled at each other, using some kind of couple telepathy or something. “Of course,” Shiro said with a fond smile.

We walked back out to the party, where it looked like Lance and Coran were having a dance-off. Lance’s smile filled my body with a happiness I couldn’t explain, the way he moved his hips and waved his arms through the air, he looked so happy, so carefree.

He spotted me through Pidge and Allura, his smile growing even wider. His eyes sparkled like a lake when the sun hits it just right, or like freshly fallen snow that gets blown through the air by a strong gust of wind. He pushed his way through the two girls and grabbed my wrist. “Come dance with me, I’m totally whooping Coran’s butt right now.”

“W-wait no, no, no…” It was too late, he was already pulling me out in front of everyone.

“Come on, you’re my dance partner forever remember?” He gave me a slight smile before spinning me around.

I decided it was a good time to let loose, to forget all of my troubles and ignore the negative in my life, all I had to do right now was enjoy this night with my friends and fiance. My body moved to the beat, my hips shaking, my legs moving me, spinning me around in circles as laughter escaped me.

It was getting late so we all decided to call it a night, more like Adam and Shiro were kicking us out, but that was beside the point. Lance and I made our way out to our car and headed home.

When we pulled down the street of the arcade I saw someone standing outside, it wouldn’t have been so weird, but it was four in the morning, no one was at the arcade this late at night. I squinted my eyes trying to see who it was, but it was so dark and the street light wasn’t doing any justice. But in one instant something changed, almost like something had sat on my chest, I saw the deep brown hair sticking out from under the hood and a smile so eerie it made my heart sink into my stomach.

When we finally made it back to the apartment, up the stairs, down the hall, and through the door, Lance caught me off guard. He grabbed me and pushed me up against the door pressing his lips against mine. I had gotten so used to his touch, yet it still lit a fire deep down every time. His kisses made their way down my jawline, to my neck, and further down to my shoulder.

I snuck my hand up his shirt and caressed my way up his spine, eliciting a small moan from the Cuban boy. He grabbed at my shirt and proceeded to pull it off, flinging it across the room. He was right back at, this time kissing down my chest until he reached my waistline. God, why was he so hot?

“Come on,” He said sticking his fingers into my pants and pulling me along to the bedroom.

He pushed me onto the bed and climbed on top of me, planting heavy kisses across my waist. “Will you just do it already, I don’t know how much more I can take,” I groaned.

He smiled, “But where would be the fun in that?”

“Oh come on, you know it drives me nuts when you tease me like that.”

“I do, which is why it’s so much fun.”

He unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them down, the relief of pressure felt amazing. I looked down to see Lance, leaning on the dresser, pulling all of his clothes off. It was kind of funny because he couldn’t get his legs free from the tight yellow leggings he was wearing. He was swearing up a storm as he hopped around on one foot trying to pull his other one free.

“Lance… Pfft… you gotta… you gotta pull,” I laughed.

“Shut up, I’m trying my best over here, aha.” He finally freed his legs and jumped back onto the bed. “Now, where were we?”


	2. The Day After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after the party everyone is not feeling quite like themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Keith~

I hadn’t stopped thinking about what I saw last night, it was so weird. But there was no way it could have been real, there was no way I saw him on the street. I sat on the bed as I pulled on my oil stained jeans for work, Romelle and Bandor would fire me for sure if I was late again. They were my bosses and also siblings, they took the ship over when their dad died a couple years ago.

The door opened and Lance strolled in holding two cups of coffee. “I figured you might need this, I know I do.” He handed me one of the cups, then proceeded to take a long sip of his own. “I’m pretty sure that little gremlin spiked the punch last night, my head is killing me.”

“Hey Lance, I… I need to talk to you about something later, it’s not bad so please don’t freak out, but I promised Dr. Sanda that I would talk to you about it.”

“Oh, umm, okay.” He took another long sip of his coffee.

I stood up. “I have to get to work, but when I get home we can talk about it.”

“Well then, have a wonderful day sweetheart, I’ll see you when you get home,” He snickered.

I smiled as I closed the bedroom door behind me. I walked down to my car and got in, I sat there for a minute doing my counting exercises to clear my head. Lance was right, I’m pretty sure Pidge spiked the punch last night.

Luckily it was a slow day, not too many customers or cars to work on, so I just sat and cleaned most of the day, while Bandor worked on his bike build.

I decided to take out the trash and get some fresh air, so I told Romelle I was going to take my break. 

As I made my way out of the back door, I heard what sounded like the trash cans rattling. I figured it was just some raccoons or squirrels, so I just ignored it and headed to the big dumpster across the alley.

I pulled out my snack bar and sat, leaning up against the wall. The trash cans rattled again, but I couldn’t see anything over by them. Maybe it was the wind? I mean it was a bit windy today but was it enough to move the trash cans around.

I ignored it and went back to eating my snack bar, it might not have been the tastiest lunch in the world, but it was enough for me at the moment, I couldn’t really eat much right now thanks to the hangover I had.

A gust of wind blew and the sound of someone's voice, a whisper, came through with it. I couldn’t make out what it was saying, it was so quiet, but suddenly it was loud and clear. “I’ll never stop coming for you.”

No, no, no, I didn’t hear that, and it definitely didn’t sound like James’ voice. That’s it, I’m officially going crazy, I should just sign myself into the psych ward now. Suddenly, something flew past me nicking my arm, “Agh, shit, what the hell was that?” I looked up just in time to see someone running away and vanishing around the corner.

My heart started to race as the image from the night before replayed in my head. The person I had seen last night was wearing the same sweatshirt as the guy I just saw running away. Was that James? Was I seeing things? Am I just imagining all of this? Maybe I should just forget about it and head back to work.

I shook my head and counted to ten, taking in deep breaths and clearing my mind of all my thoughts. I headed back in and finished my shift, not saying anything to anyone, not even when Romelle noticed my arm was bleeding, I just asked her for a band-aid and went on with my cleaning.

I was finally home. I stood outside the front door for a second or two before I walked in, just to give myself a chance to clear my head. Lance was sitting in the living room playing some weird new video game we got a couple weeks ago called Voltron Legendary Defender. You were supposed to fly this robot lion, and meld with the other robot lions, to make some large robot guy and save the universe from being completely taken over by the bad aliens, it was kind of weird but fun to play.

“Oh, hey, you’re finally home.” He patted at the spot next to him on the couch, “Come, sit with me, I’m about to beat the final boss.”

“What? There is no way you are already to the final boss,” I said rushing over and sitting next to him.

“Okay, I only need to hit him like two more times and he will be dead, the only problem is actually getting a hit on him.”

“Maybe if you… or you could… yeah like that.”

We both jumped up as the screen flashed the victory sequence, we cheered and kissed, it might have been a bit of overkill for a video game, but I guess we were pretty nerdy when it came to games.

“That was awesome!” Lance cheered.

“It was, but I’ve gotta go take a shower before I do anything else,” I said standing up.

“Ooh, can I join you?”

I spun around and bent over so my face was inches from his. “Sorry baby, but I actually want to get clean this time.” I leaned in and pressed my lips to his, then turned around and walked off to the bathroom.

After my shower I came out with just my sweatpants on, I was drying my hair with the towel when a pair of arms wrapped around me. “You smell soooo good,” Lance said as he placed his forehead on my back.

I chuckled, “Oh, do I?”

His fingertips ran across my chest and around to my back resting on my scar. “How is your skin so soft, you don’t even moisturize, even though I tell you every time.”

“I guess it’s just a gift,” I answered. I could tell he was pouting just by the way he leaned in a bit more. “Oh come on, don’t pout, you know I love you, right?” He mumbled something into my back. “What was that I couldn’t hear you,” I smiled.

“I said of course I know that, and also, I love you too, even though your skin is irritatingly soft.”

“Good, now let’s go figure out what we’re having for dinner.”

Lance had been teaching me how to cook, it didn’t exactly start out right, but I’ve definitely improved. Although I wouldn’t say I was ready to cook a meal on my own, I might still start a fire or something.

We decided on spaghetti and meatballs, it wasn’t too hard to make, so it came out pretty good tonight. We were sitting down eating when Lance spoke up, “So, are we going to talk about the thing now?”

I looked up from my plate, “What thing?”

“The thing you said you wanted to talk to me about this morning.”

“Oh, right.” I put my fork down and looked up. “She wanted me to talk to you about my fear… it’s my biggest fear, the one that scares me the most and I just…” I paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath, “I’m afraid that one day I’ll lose you for good, that you’ll leave just like almost everyone in my life has, and… and I don’t want to feel this way, but I do, I hate that I feel this way because I know you won’t leave… but it just sits in the back of my mind, and I…”

“Keith,” He said wrapping his arms around me. “I had no idea you felt this way, I love you, and I will tell you that every day until we die if that’s what it takes.” His hug tightened. “I promise, I will never leave you, I will be here for you forever and beyond.”

Tears rolled down my face. “How did I get so lucky?” I whispered.

“It was destiny,” He said dramatically as he pulled away.

I chuckled, “You’re such a dork.”

“But I’m your dork,” He said touching his fingertip to my chest.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him down so he was sitting in my lap facing me. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

There was a buzz for the door, I looked down and realized there was no way I was answering the door. “Lance, baby, you have to answer the door.”

“What, no, why can’t…” He stopped when he felt me grind up against him. “Oh, okay, I’ll answer the door then.” He got up and walked into the living room and pushed the buzzer. He waited until there was a knock at the door, before opening it and letting in Pidge and Beezer.

“Hey, guys… wait where’s Keith?” She asked.

“He’s in the kitchen, why don’t we go sit in there and chat?”

What the hell Lance, I just told you I didn’t want to answer the door because of my boner, and now he’s bringing them in here. Okay, just sit at the table the whole time until it goes down, that shouldn’t be too hard, right?

“Hey Keith,” Pidge said sitting down across from me.

I bumped her outstretched fist with my own, “Hey Pidge, what’s up?”

She scratched at the back of her neck, “Well, I may or may not have spiked the punch last night and I wanted to apologize because I’m so hungover today, I think I put way too much vodka and not enough juice.”

“Ha, I knew you spiked it, Keith had to work this morning after that,” Lance shouted.

She put her fingers up to her temples, “Can you please not shout, I came to say sorry jeez.”

Beezer put his hands on her shoulders, “Sorry guys, she’s really sick today, so she’s trying. That and I told her to apologize, Shiro already called and said Adam had to miss work this morning because he was so sick.”

“Oh man, Adam never misses work, you must have really done a number on him,” I said.

“Ugh, I feel horrible, Hunk hasn’t answered me all day, he’s either really sick, or I killed him with alcohol poisoning.” She groaned loudly, “I just want this sickness to go away.” She suddenly sat up, “Oh I almost forgot, the other reason we were coming over was to introduce you to our newest pet.”

Lance gasped loudly, “You got a pet, I want to pet it.”

“Well, I mean you could, but I don’t think Rover’s going to really feel it.” She pulled out a small pyramid-shaped robot, it beeped a couple of times then floated across the table to lance.

He looked at it for a minute then touched it with his finger, it beeped excitedly, nuzzling into his hand. “Oh my gosh, this is the cutest robot I’ve ever seen.” He rubbed his hand across it's… back? While it beeped and danced around in the air.

“Hmm, maybe it can feel it.” She said tilting her head to the side.

We talked for a while before they left, Pidge finally remembered she felt like death and decided it was time for them to head home. We headed to the bedroom to get ready for bed and watch a couple more episodes of our show, who am I kidding, we’ll probably watch the whole season in one night.

“Hey Keith,” Lance said as I snuggled up next to him. “I just wanted to let you know that you matter more to me than anyone on earth, no, the universe.”

I chuckled nervously, “Wh- what was that for?”

“I just wanted to tell you that.”

I closed my eyes as he rubbed my scalp with the tips of his fingers. I always fell asleep when he rubbed my scalp, it was one of the most relaxing things in the world, like when your mom used to sing you lullabies, or your dad reading you stories in those funny voices. I needed Lance, I couldn’t lose him.


	3. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance have a date night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Lance~

It’s been a couple weeks since the party now, everything went back to the way it was, and thank god Hunk finally called me, we were all starting to get worried. Keith and I were heading out for date night, which was of course at the arcade, ah the little things that keep us going. I slipped on my black skinny jeans and white t, along with the shark pendant Keith had gotten me for our one year anniversary. I twisted my black snapback around back words and slipped on my denim jacket before meeting Keith at the door.

He had on a nice white dress shirt and a pair of black dress pants. His hair was even slicked back. “Wait, why are you dressed like that?” I asked him crossing my arms.

“I should be asking you the same thing, are you really going to go out to dinner like that?” He snickered.

“What, I thought we were going to the arcade for date night tonight?”

He smiled, it didn’t come along often so I took it whenever I could get one. “Well, I was going to take you to the arcade, but I thought that new restaurant in town looked much better, you know, the one you’ve been practically begging me to take you to.”

“What! Really? Omg, I need to go change, give me a minute,” I said rushing back into the bedroom.

I flung open the closet door and started rummaging around looking for me dress clothes box, we haven’t exactly unpacked all of our boxes yet, just the main things. As I was pushing clothes out of the way I noticed a guitar case shoved into the back. I grabbed it and pulled it out, running my fingers up and down the dusty leather. I set it down on the floor and popped the latches causing it to spring open.

Inside the case was a beautiful acoustic guitar. The wood was swirled with color, it kind of looked like a coffee as you pour in the cream, swirls of mahogany and red mixing with a lighter almost amber color. I picked it up and spun it around in my hands noticing some writing on the back.

‘To my son,  
Don’t ever forget how much you mean to me, I love you!  
Papa’

I plucked at a string making a deep vibration through my hands and into my arms.

“My dad gave me that a couple weeks before he died.”

I jumped when I heard Keith’s voice from the doorway. I placed the guitar back in the case and spun around to face him like I wasn’t touching it. “I’m sorry, I found it in the back of the closet and I just wanted to look at it, but…”

“Lance,” He interrupted, “It’s okay, I’m not mad.” He sat down next to me on the floor and pulled the guitar back out of the case. “It’s actually been a long time since I played this, I put it away after everything that happened with… James, I just didn’t have the motivation to play anymore.”

“Wait, so you mean to tell me that my fiance can play the guitar?” I was ten times more attracted to him now.

He chuckled before pulling the strap up over his head. “Yes, well, I used to, but I think I might have my motivation back to start playing it again.” He strummed his fingers across it with a beautiful hum. He began to strum along filling the room with a song I had never heard before, it was raw but sweet. My eyes closed as I let the music wash over me unknowingly beginning to sing.

♪ You are the red  
And I am the blue  
For the rest of my life  
I will love you  
You make me so happy  
When I am with you  
So let's make Purple  
Just mix your red with my blue ♪

When I opened my eyes, I realized the music had stopped. Keith had stopped strumming and was staring at me intensely. He spun the guitar around to his back and threw himself at me, knocking me to the floor. He pressed his lips to mine, perhaps a bit harder than intended, but god was it electric. It ignited a spark deep down in my heart causing it to skip a beat or two before racing a mile a minute.

He pulled himself off, his face turning a brilliant shade of rose. “Sorry… I just... you were so cute and I didn’t really know how to handle it, so I thought kissing you would be my best option…” He trailed off looking down at his feet.

I put my fingers to his chin and pulled his gaze back up to mine. “You don’t ever have to be sorry for kissing me, besides if you wouldn’t have done it I probably would have, your guitar playing skill is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen or heard.”

“We should probably get going, we actually have a reservation to make.”

“Shit, I gotta get dressed,” I said scrambling to pull out the box that said dress clothes on it.

I left on my black jeans and threw on my navy blue dress shirt. I was just about to follow Keith out of the room until I remembered I was wearing a hat. I quickly pulled it off, tossing it across the room to the dresser and ran my fingers through my hair to help my hat hair situation.

The restaurant was huge and super fancy, almost a bit too fancy for my taste, but it was still nice to not be eating nachos from the arcade. The greeter seated us towards the back asking if we were waiting for our dates, assuming we were double dating.

“No thanks sir, my date is already here,” Keith said with a fake smile.

He looked around to see if he had missed anyone while he was seating us. “Which one is it, sir, I can escort them to the table if you like?”

“Well, they’re tall, brown hair, and these gorgeous blue eyes that you can’t miss, they’re wearing a navy blue button-up paired with some sexy tight skinny jeans…” The greeter kept looking around, still unable to see that the person he was talking about was me. “And HE just so happens to be sitting next to me.”

Now he was embarrassed, his face glowing red as he realized his own mistake. “I am so sorry sirs, I didn’t realize you were together.”

“Well, I did reserve the table for two, not four, so you probably should have figured that one out.”

“Yes, I’m so sorry, the waiter will be with you shortly.” He bowed and walked off shaking his head.

Keith turned back to look at me, the music serenading the room with a beautiful tone of piano and violin. In this light, his eyes were even more beautiful than the first time I had seen them, and that’s saying something because I still haven’t forgotten how they looked up at me that night. I guess that was when I really fell in love with him, I just never realized it until he was drunkenly stumbling into my bed that night.

“Have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are, how much they sparkle when the light shines on them?”

He blushed, another smile forming on his face as I placed my hand in his across the table. “Lance, how are you such a smooth talker all the time, where did you learn to talk this way?”

“My sister Veronica, she was always really good with words and she taught me everything I know,” I said.

Our waiter interrupted our conversation, causing me to pull my hand away out of habit. He had long silver hair pulled back into a ponytail, and the creepiest fake smile I had ever seen for a waiter.

“My name is Lotor, I will be your server for the night, may I start you off with some drinks, maybe an appetizer?” He had a nice British accent, I was kind of a sucker for accents, which is weird because I actually had an accent growing up, but now it only comes out when I’m scared or angry.

Keith was looking at him kind of funny so I took it upon myself to order our drinks for him. He took a couple deep breaths as the waiter walked away and focused his attention back on me. “Are you doing alright?” I asked.

“Uh, yeah, he just seemed familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.” He ran his fingers through his hair slicking back the few pieces of stray hair that had fallen into his face. I never really got to see his forehead that often, it really pulled together his face when it wasn’t hiding under all that black hair.

“You’re not lying to me again, are you?” I said concerned.

“Babe, I promise to you that I’m not lying, I really have no idea who that guy is.”

Good enough for me, I wasn’t going to keep bugging him about it, it was already starting to ruin the mood. “I’m sorry, I don’t think you’re lying to me… I just get worried sometimes, I don’t want what happened last time to happen again, I don’t want you to get hurt and I really don’t want you to...”

He grabbed my hand from across the table again. “Lance, it’s okay to worry, I haven’t really given you much reason to believe me.”

“It doesn’t matter, I should still trust you no matter what, you’re my partner and I love you,” I really need to work on this, I don’t want to ruin things with my constant worrying.  
Lotor brought out our food later, Keith ignoring him the whole time. We talked and ate while the music played in the background, it felt like a movie. This place was amazing and the food was delicious, the waiter and greeter could have been nicer, but it was still a decent place.

We paid the tab and headed back home, stopping at the arcade for a couple hours before deciding it was time to go, Keith seemed quieter, his chin resting in his hand as he stared out the window. The light from the street lights flashed in and out as we drove through the city, illuminating him in a series of flashes almost like someone was taking pictures. I had to break the silence, it was getting awkward.

“So, do you want to watch a movie tonight, I was thinking we could watch the Maltese Falcon, or Arsenic and Old Lace is a good one, maybe Casablanca?”

He sat up finally looking away from the window and over to me. “I still don’t understand what your infatuation is with old movies, they’re not even in color.”

“I used to watch them with my Abuela, I guess it’s sort of a memory thing for me.” I thought about the many nights Abuela would let me stay up past bedtime to watch her favorite movies with her. She would always make me a bowl of popcorn and let me drink a pop… soda, coke? I never really understood the difference between them, but oh well.

“Okay, we can watch any of them, as long as you promise to rub my head the whole time,” He said.

“What, no, then you’ll fall asleep and miss it like you do every time,” I cried.

He laughed, “But that’s the best part, I sleep so much better when I’m with you.”

“Okay, that was adorable, but I just want one night where you stay up with me, I’ll help you sleep when it’s done, deal?” I wanted him to watch it with me, I wanted to talk to him, to sit up with him eating popcorn like a nerd, just this once.

“Alright, deal.” His hand rested on my thigh as he looked back out the window. “I will do anything to make you happy.”

I blushed as we pulled into the parking lot. As we got out Keith, out of sheer force of habit, took a long good look around the parking lot, even though James was in prison, he was still worried that he would show up one day. The parking lot was full of cars, but there was no one in site, it was so late that there weren’t even any lights on in the building.

I started the movie, I chose Casablanca, it was one of my favorites, and headed over to the bed to lay next to Keith. “Don’t forget, you have to stay up this time, no falling asleep on me, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, now just let me get comfortable.” He snuggled his way into my side.

He wasn’t staying awake.


	4. Nica's Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica is coming to visit for the holidays, but when Lance gets back from the airport to find Keith curled up in the corner, he starts to get worried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith then Lance

~Keith~

“I’m so excited to see Nica, I hope she remembered to bring what I asked for.” Lance was pacing around the living room.

“Babe, why don’t you come sit down for a bit before you have to leave?” I patted the spot next to me on the couch.

He stopped for a second contemplating his options before beginning to pace around again. “I’m sorry, I just don’t think I could sit still right now, I think I might just leave now, you don’t mind do you?”

I smiled, I was glad he had family that loved him. “It’s fine, drive safe, I’ll stick behind and clean some stuff up before you get back.”

“You are the best fiance in the world,” He said hugging me and running over to the door to get his coat on. “I love you and I will be back in like two hours.”

“I love you too,” I chuckled as he rushed out the door.

I turned my music up and got to cleaning. The sound of the vacuum was drowned out by the sound of me singing, I had to do something to make cleaning fun. I danced around shaking my hips in the kitchen as I wiped down the counters and cleaned a couple of dishes from breakfast this morning. The bathroom was next, I decided to clean the sink, I never knew it could get this dirty or slimy, oh god I don’t even want to think about what made it slimy.

The cleaning was finally done, and I still had a good hour before they were supposed to be back, so I decided to lay down in the bedroom for a bit. The silence was nice, it gave me time to get my head in the right mind space to have a visitor for a month. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my mind.

I thought I heard footsteps, but when I opened my eyes and looked around I didn’t see anyone and the footsteps stopped. I really am going crazy. I closed my eyes and laid my head back on my pillow, the footsteps started up again, but this time much closer, almost like they were right next to the bed. I opened my eyes and looked around, but again, there was no one there. I closed them again, I was just freaking myself out since I was alone.

Suddenly there was a pair of hands wrapped around my throat, my eyes shot open as I frantically grabbed at the long thin fingers digging into my windpipe. All I could see through my gasps was a strand of short brown hair peeking out through the hood of the sweatshirt. My world began to spin, my eyes feeling like they were going to pop out of my head. I slipped in and out of consciousness, gasping for any breath of air I could catch, but to no avail.

I had no idea how long I had been out, but when I woke, gasping for air and coughing, I heard footsteps again. I ran to the corner and threw my hands over my head, I had to keep telling myself that it wasn’t real, there was no way I was just attacked by James. They kept getting closer and closer until I heard the door creak open.

“Keith buddy, are you okay?”

~Lance~

I ran out of the apartment, excitedly skipping through the parking lot until I reached my car. My sister was my best friend in the whole world growing up, even though she was kind of annoying sometimes when it came to my personal life, but she raised me when mama was busy or wasn’t around, so I had more of a bond with her then the rest of my siblings.

I drove to the airport, the traffic around the airport was just as bad as the traffic in the airport. I finally found a parking spot and headed in. Thank goodness I brought my headphones since I was an hour earlier than expected.

I sat at Florona’s coffee shop, I had to get myself one of the delicious coffees I had been hearing about from Hunk. I have to admit it was just as good as he said it was.   
I sipped at it while I pulled my headphones out and plugged them in. This was the perfect time for me to get caught up on the playlist for the wedding.

An hour and a two-page list of song names later, Nica’s flight was landing and unloading. Large groups of people walked by meeting up with their families, smiling and laughing, giving each other hugs, but Nica was nowhere to be found. Maybe she missed her flight? Maybe she was running late or something.

A tap at my shoulder. I turned around to see Nica standing there with a smile on her face. “Nica!” I screamed throwing my arms around her.

“Hey little brother, did you miss me?” She laughed wrapping her arms around me.

“Of course I missed you.”

She pulled away. “Where is my new brother, don’t tell me you didn’t bring him with.”

I scratched at the back of my head, “Well, he wanted to stay behind and clean a bit, that and he hates large crowds.” I gestured to the hundreds of people surrounding us in the baggage area. “This isn’t exactly the best place for him.”

“I understand,” She sighed. “Then let’s not keep him waiting, I’m ready to get out of this airport any minute now.” Her expression changed to excitement, she was so happy that I finally picked someone who wasn’t a psycho or a stalker at least those were her words.

We headed out to the car, the line to get out was long and it didn’t seem to be moving much. “I think it might be more than a minute to get out of this airport.”

The ride home was not quiet at all, Both Nica and I were talkative people, so there was no silence between us. She told me how the family was doing and how excited they were for the wedding. She told me about Marco and Luis getting into a fight and mama screaming “don’t make me hit you with my chanclas”, yeah that sounded like classic mama. I told her stories about Pidge and Hunk, and about the Halloween/birthday/adoption reveal party, and how everyone got poisoned by Pidge, including herself.

“Okay, there’s one more thing I want to talk to you about,” I said as we pulled into the parking lot. “Be on your best behavior, remember the last time you came to visit, right after we got engaged?”

She looked at me confused. “I just don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m always on my best behavior,” She said sarcastically.

“You asked him how I was in bed, and then proceeded to ask him who fucked who.”

“What, I just wanted to know, this situation is kind of new to me, I’ve never had a gay brother before.”

“I’m bi, but that’s not the point, the point is that he’s not like me and our siblings, you can’t just ask him such personal questions, it makes him uncomfortable, so please just tone down the personal stuff.” I was begging her at this point, Nica didn’t really have a filter when it came to stuff like that, like how your mom just walks into your room without knocking, or a partner with trust issues going through your phone while you’re in the bathroom.

“I promise to try my hardest.” She had her hand up with her other hand face down on the center console like she was swearing in for court.

“Good enough I guess.” Trying was probably the best I was going to get from her.

“But for real, who fucks who, are you the bottom, is that why you’re the bride of the wedding?”

“Nica, I love you, but please shut up… and I am not the bride because I’m the bottom, which I’m not saying I am or am not, I’m the bride because I’m the one doing all the planning.” My face was beat red, I really wanted this conversation to stop, this was not something I wanted to talk to my sister about.

We made our way up the stairs and down the hall to the apartment, I put my arm up to stop her when I realized the door was cracked open. I knew I locked it before I left, Keith hates when the door isn’t locked when he’s home alone.

“I need you to stay out here,” I demanded.

I walked through the door cautiously looking around in case someone else was here. I snuck down the hall to the open bedroom door. I could swear I heard someone coughing as I got closer. I opened the door and found Keith huddle in a ball in the corner, he had his hands over his head like a shield and he was coughing in between whispers.  
“It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real,” He repeated over and over.

“Keith buddy, are you okay?” He jumped when I said his name, his gaze rose to meet mine. He had tears streaming down his cheeks and a red mark across his neck. “What the hell happened to you?” I rushed over to him and wrapped my arms around him.

“I… I d-don’t know, I was asleep and I think I had a nightmare or something, but it felt so real like I was being choked, i-it’s like I can still feel it.” I pulled back as he ran his fingers across his neck wincing when he got to the scratch marks.

I made him lift up his chin so I could inspect it better. “Are you sure it was a dream, are you sure someone didn’t break in while I was gone?” I was frantic, the bruise was already starting to darken in a handprint shape.

“It had to be… because the person that attacked me was... was James,” He cried.

I froze when I heard that name, I never really liked thinking about him, hearing anything that had to do with him. “Are you absolutely sure it was him, and if it was just a dream then what’s with the marks on your neck?”

He wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve. “I, I don’t know, m-maybe I did it while I was sleeping, the dream felt so real I…” He wrapped his arms around his legs. “Lance, I think somethings wrong with me, I think I’m going crazy, I keep seeing things and having these weird dreams, and I just…” He trailed off.

“Listen to me, you are not crazy, got it? You have been through so much, I honestly don’t know how you are as sane as you are. You are strong and brave and loved… and I think it might just be stress from work and planning this wedding, I know I’ve been pretty stressed.” 

He peeked up at me over his arm, “Yo-you’re right, I think I’m just a bit stressed, I don’t even really know why I’m so freaked out, he’s in prison for crying out loud, my brain is just overreacting.”

I pulled him into a hug, I still wasn’t fully convinced it was a dream, with the door cracked open and the handprint on his throat, but I also didn’t want him to freak out like I was. There’s no way it could have been James, right?

“Ahem, am I interrupting something?” Crap, I forgot about Nica.

I helped Keith to his feet and hugged him tight one more time before turning back around to her. “Sorry sis, just a slight panic attack, but everything’s fine.” I knew he wouldn’t want me talking about James in front of her, so I tried to be as vague as possible.

“Hey Veronica, sorry, I just had a nightmare, nothing to fuss over I have them often,” Keith croaked drying the rest of his tears on his shirt.

“Does my brother always help you through them?” She asked.

“Nica,” I scowled.

Keith put his hand up, “No, it’s okay, since we’re going to be family, she might as well get to know both sides of me.” My jaw dropped to the floor, this was the first time he was willing to open up to someone so freely, he hadn’t even warmed up to Dr. Sanda at first. “He does, he helps me through everything, every panic attack, every nightmare, every time I feel like I can’t keep going he’s there for me.”

I felt my face growing hotter. Nica walked over to us and pulled both of us into a hug. “I’m sorry for what you’re going through, but I’m glad my brother is helping you through it, it means I taught him well.

“Anyway,” I said pulling myself from her hug, I couldn’t take anymore embarrassment. “What should we have for dinner, I’m starving.”

“Let’s just get takeout, much easier and we don’t have dishes to clean up after,” Keith smiled, also pulling away.

“Alright, but Nica’s gotta choose, she’s the guest after all.”

“What? You can’t expect me to pick, you know how terrible I am at making decisions.” She groaned.

“Nope you’re right, last time I asked you to make a decision it took you three hours to pick a restaurant and it ended up being too late by the time we got there, I’ll pick.” I threw my hands up and walked out of the room to go look at takeout menus.

I decided on the Mexican place down the road, their food was the closest thing I had found to mama’s cooking, but nothing could beat that, not even Hunk’s cooking.

We sat up and played games and talked for a while before Nica said she was tired. I was surprised she lasted as long as she did after her flight and everything. She headed off to bed in the guest bedroom and Keith and I headed to our own room.

He pulled his shirt and pants off, grabbing out a pair of sweatpants from the drawer. I couldn’t help but stare when he bent over, his butt was so round and firm. I looked away quickly as he turned around to head back to the bed.

“Are you sure you’re okay, do you need me to check it again?” I ran my fingers along his cheekbones and down to his neck. He had wrapped a bandage around his neck covering it up.

He grabbed my hand quickly and pulled it away. “No, it’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

I don’t know why, but I felt like every time he told me not to worry about something, it only made me worry about it more. Besides, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head that it wasn’t a dream, how could he dream something like that and have physical damage, but then he says it was James who attacked him, but James is in prison, so… Ugh, I’m so confused.

“Hey,” Keith’s voice cut through. “Quit over thinking it and just watch this show with me.”

“Okay, okay.” I laid down assuming the position we seemed to sleep in every night, and out of habit I began to run my fingers through his hair. At least one of us would get some good sleep tonight.


	5. The News Report

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith goes to therapy, then hangs out with Veronica, and hears something on the news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith

I dressed extra warm today, a nice thick sweatshirt and a pair of my sweatpants with the fluff in the legs, I never really liked the cold, living in an attic during the six coldest months of the year definitely didn’t help with that.

I walked out into the living room where Veronica was sitting on the couch watching something on tv, Lance had work tonight so he left about a half an hour ago. “You’re sure you will be alright here by yourself while I’m at my appointment?” I asked, grabbing my jacket from the closet.

“Of course, don’t worry about me I’m just going to watch my shows until you get back, probably search wedding stuff on Pinterest, that sort of stuff,” she smiled, looking over her glasses at me.

“Okay, I’ll be back in like two hours, do you want me to pick anything up on the way home, I'm not the best cook so… Yeah.”

She laughed, ”Oh yeah, I've heard about your cooking skills, but I also heard that Lance has been teaching you, so if he can't teach you then no one can.”

”I am getting better, but I still don't trust it.” I opened the door. ”I’ll just pick something up on my way home.”

I made my way into Dr. Sanda’s office, something seemed different, maybe new wallpaper or a new painting I never really paid that much attention to the waiting room. I greeted Ina the receptionist and sat in my usual spot while I waited for my appointment.

“How are you doing today, Keith?” Karen asked as I sat in the chair across from her desk.

I shrugged my shoulders, “I guess I could be better.”

“What happened to your neck?” She pointed to the bandage wrapped around my neck.

I looked away placing my hand over the bandage, I still felt like I was going crazy. “I just had this strange dream it’s nothing.”

“You injured yourself during a dream?” She leaned over her desk to get a closer look.

“Well, I had this dream that I was being choked and when I woke up I had this weird bruise and some scratch marks on my neck.”

She got up and walked around the desk. “May I see it?” She asked putting her hands up.

I was reluctant, but I pulled my hand away and began to unwrap the bandage. The cold air hitting the tender skin stung a bit, the bandage sticking in one spot causing me to wince. She examined it up close putting her hand on my chin and turning my head from side to side.

“Are you sure this was from a dream?” She finally asked breaking the awkward silence that filled the room.

“I’m pretty sure,” I pulled away and wrapped the bandage back around my throat. “The person that attacked me in my dream was James, so I’m going to assume that’s all it was, was a dream.”

She stood back up lingering for a moment before heading back to her seat behind her desk. “Maybe we should talk more about this dream?”

“No, I’m good, I’m pretty sure I’m just stressed about the wedding and everything, that and Lance’s sister is in town for the holidays and you know how I am with company.”

I knew she wasn’t going to drop the dream, she would just keep quiet for now and bring it back up in another session. I guess that was fine with me, I really didn’t want to talk about it right now anyway.

The session ended and it was finally time for me to head home. I stopped into the castle of lions to pick up dinner for me and Veronica, and maybe to see Lance, okay mainly just to see Lance.

Allura greeted me when I walked in a smile on her face. She pointed me to the back where Lance had been taking over for Coran while he was out sick. I snuck into the back and wrapped my arms around him placing my head on his back.

“Okay, either Allura is messing with me or my favorite person in the universe came to visit me at work.” He whipped around and threw his arms around me picking me up of the ground. “God am I glad to see you, I have had the worst night and the only thing that could make it better is a kiss.” He puckered his lips and closed his eyes awaiting my kiss. 

I gave him a quick peck on the cheek, “Sorry, but I have someone else waiting for me at home.”

“What? Please don’t tell me you’re cheating on me, oh man, what am I going to tell Nica when I get ho… you were talking about my sister weren’t you?”

I laughed. “Of course I was, why would you ever think I would cheat on you?”

“I don’t know, my brain is officially not working tonight.” He had dark circles under his eyes and they looked heavy. I placed my hand on his cheek running my thumb along the bone. His body shuttered under my touch.

“So, would it be too much to ask for some food for me and your sister?”

“Of course not, but you really should start cooking your own food.”

“Why, when I have someone who will do it for me?”

He groaned, “Alright, what do you want?”

I told him the order and sat in the back keeping him company while he cooked. The food looked as amazing as ever, I wanted to take a bite out of it now, but I knew if I did I’d eat it all before I got home and there wouldn’t be any left for Veronica.

I kissed him goodbye as he handed me the to go bag and I set off for home. It wasn’t too long of a drive, but I was going crazy smelling the food the whole way, I actually had to stop myself a couple of times from opening the box, but somehow I managed to get it all home.

I walked through the front door, Veronica was still sitting in the exact same position on the couch as she had been when I left. “You hungry? I stopped by the bar and got Lance to make us dinner.” I held the bag of food up.

“You know it,” she giggled.

We sat at the table and ate the delicious food Lance had so graciously made us and then headed back to the living room to watch some more of her TV drama. I didn’t really understand it and it was so overly dramatic.

“Woah, woah, woah, who the hell is that guy and why is he trying to steal Gwen from Steve?” I blurted out.

“His name is Jack and he’s Steve’s long lost brother, but he was given up as a child and forced to live in foster homes his whole life while Steve got to grow up with everything. So now he’s trying to mess up his life and get his revenge,” She explained.

“But… wouldn’t he want revenge on his parents for giving him up and not his brother who had no control over the situation?”

“Oh honey, you are reading way too much into this, you have to just watch and enjoy or it will ruin the show for you, that’s what happened to me and the hospital drama I used to watch.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

We watched a couple more episodes before Veronica decided to go to bed. I stayed up to wait for Lance to get home, I owed him for making me dinner again.

It was about 1:30 in the morning when he finally got home. He stumbled in through the door throwing his things in the closet before collapsing face down in my lap. He mumbled something into my leg, but I couldn’t quite understand it. I started to rub his shoulders, immediately eliciting a moan.

”I’m sorry about your rough night, do you want to go lay down?” I asked running my fingers down his spine.

“Only if you keep doing that,” he mumbled.

I chuckled a bit, “of course I will now let’s move this to the bedroom.”

I turned on the news and straddled my legs around his waist. I leaned over and kissed the back of his neck before sitting back up and continuing my message. I ran my hands up and over his shoulders, stopping when I felt a knot and lightly digging my thumb into it.

“Agh, damn you,” he cried, but his cry turned into a moan as the knot started to loosen.

The news anchor on TV started with her usual story about puppies needing homes, the camera panning through the sad looking dogs while some sad song played in the background. But the next story was what really caught my attention, so I turned it up real quick.

“We are finally able to reveal the names of those involved in the Daibazaal prison stabbing. The suspect's name was James Griffin who apparently got into an altercation with another cellmate. One guard died in the fight and the others involved were sent to the hospital.”

I hadn’t realized that I had stopped or that lance had propped himself up on his elbows. The anchor continued to talk about the situation, but everything seemed to go silent. I felt this feeling I hadn't felt in at least a year, this feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Suddenly I felt a pair of hands on my face, Lance's voice finally breaking the silence in my head. “Keith, hey, are you alright, do you need me to do the thing?”

“Umm… I don’t… Uh…” Damn it Keith, get your shit together, you can't even hear his name without freaking out.

He pulled me around and into his lap holding me kind of like a baby while he rocked back and forth humming. It was embarrassing, I hated that he had to do this for me, that I was this pathetic. But his warmth was so inviting pulling me in, causing me to bury my face into his shoulder.

I finally pulled my head back. “I really hate that you have to do this for me right now, I was trying to make tonight all about you, but I messed up like always.”

He chuckled, “you didn't mess anything up, I love you.” He pulled me closer locking his fingers so I couldn’t escape. “Can we just hang out like this for a while or maybe for the rest of the night? This is all I need tonight.”

“Are you sure, you should probably get some sleep.”

“Yes,” He said leaning back against the headboard. “Besides, I can sleep just fine like this.” He closed his eyes still holding me in his lap.

I forgot why I was upset, I did every time he held me like this, it was just so comforting how could I not? I nuzzled myself back into him and closed my eyes too, I guess this is how we were sleeping tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back Y'all. I am so sorry for this update taking so long, I haven't been feeling the best and I'm helping my parents move into a new house this month, but I promise to keep updating.


	6. Thanksgiving At The Shiroganes'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Thanksgiving and everyone is pitching in to help get set up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance then Keith

~Lance~

Keith, Veronica, and I made our way over to Shiro and Adam’s, it was the day before Thanksgiving, and Adam was freaking out about having so many people over for dinner, so we all decided to at least help set up. Adam never really freaked out about these kinds of things, so if he was, that meant it was a big deal.

Veronica and I talked the whole car ride over there while Keith sat quietly looking out his window. I knew what he was thinking about, that news report last night wasn’t something he was going to easily forget about. But I couldn’t push it too much or he’ll shut down completely.

We finally reached the house and headed in. I didn’t think this place could get any cleaner, but man was I wrong. It smelled like pumpkin pie and apple cider, two of my favorite things about fall. Shiro came rushing through the living room, carrying an armload of decorations, and disappeared into the dining room.

“I should probably go help him,” Keith sighed. “He has probably been running around with those same decorations all morning.”

Keith walked off leaving me and Nica in the living room. I looked over at her and she mouthed, “It’s so clean in here.”

“I know,” I mouthed back.

Adam popped his head around the corner, “Oh thank god you guys are here, someone needs to calm Takashi down, we can only have one disaster gay today and I’m taking that role.”

“Don’t worry, Keith is already on it.” I pointed to the dining room where Shiro and Keith were hanging the decorations.

“Okay, then Veronica, I need you to help set up the table, everything is already in there you just have to set it out, and Lance, I need your help in the kitchen, especially with the pies, please tell me you can make pie?”

I chuckled, “Of course I can make pies, I helped my mama make them all the time.”

We split up, each of us off in our little sections of the house trying to get everything ready for tomorrow. I rolled out the dough for three different pies, a pumpkin, a pecan, and I personally love apple pies so I made one of those as well. I got the crusts ready and poured in the fillings, thank goodness they had a huge oven so I could make all three at once.  


While I waited for the pies to be done I decided to wander and see if anyone else needed my help. I walked through the dining room, but it looked as though Nica was already done with that, it was set beautifully, a nice red tablecloth with the Thanksgiving plates set out, they literally have turkeys painted on them. The centerpiece was a cornu-something-or-other filled with pumpkins and gourds mixing oranges and yellows along with the red leaves she had strewn across it.

“Damn Nica, nice job on the centerpiece.”

“Thank you, I love decorating,” She smiled.

I looked around, now noticing that Keith and Shiro had disappeared. “Where did the other two go?”

“Well, Shiro had to go grab some more things from the storage space under the stairs, and I think Keith went outside to get some fresh air.”

I was already heading out of the dining room as I yelled back, “Thanks Nica.”

I threw on my jacket while slipping my feet into my boots, then headed out the door. Keith was sitting on the bench in the front garden, or at least it’s a garden when it’s not covered in a foot of snow. I brushed off the other half of the bench and sat down next to him placing my head on his shoulder. We sat in silence for a bit, the wind blowing rustling the empty branches of the trees, dusting us with the leftover snow from last night's snowfall.

“Lance… I love you,” He said, finally breaking the silence.

“I love you too,” I smiled. “What is this about, are you trying to get something from me?”

“No,” He chuckled. “I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you.”

I snorted, “That was the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard out of your mouth.”

“But I mean it.”

“It still doesn’t make it any less cheesy.”

He playfully pushed me off his shoulder. I bent over and scooped up a handful of snow throwing it into his face. “You little shit,” He said scooping up a handful himself and throwing it at me. We got up and started a snowball fight at, laughing when one of us hit the other.

We stopped and collapsed in the snow, it was cold, but we were hot. I felt the tips of Keith’s fingers on mine, they were cold, so I scooped it up in my own and covered it with my other hand as I rolled onto my side to face him. The snow was sticking to his long dark eyelashes covering just the tips with a glistening shimmer.

“Keith, don’t ever change.”

“Pfft, who’s being cheesy now?” He laughed.

I groaned, but before I could say anything my alarm was going off for the pies. “Oh no, my pies,” I cried pushing myself up and running into the house. 

I pulled them out right on time filling the house with an amazing aroma. Everyone came rushing into the kitchen to figure out where the mouthwatering smell was coming from, but I was there and ready to smack any sneaky hands.

Adam was practically in tears thanking us before we left, and we even told him we would be over early in the morning so I could help him cook, he hugged me so tight I thought my back was going to snap in two.

We made our way home and got ready for the next day.

~Keith~

“Ugh, why do we have to get up so early, I just want to sleep,” I groaned while Lance pulled at my arm.

“Just get dressed, you can go back to sleep when we get to the car.” He pulled me upright and then slung my arms over his shoulders pulling me into a standing position. I wasn’t much help though, more like dead weight. “Will you just stand up like a normal human being?”

“Fine,” I grumbled picking myself up.

“Thank you, now get dressed, you have twenty minutes.”

I pulled on my dress pants, yawning and wondering if Lance would be mad if I just laid down for a few more minutes, no he would definitely yell. I buttoned up my black shirt leaving the last two buttons undone, then tucked the bottom into my pants.

“LANCE, DO I HAVE TO WEAR A TIE?” I yelled.

“NO!”

Oh thank god, I hated wearing ties. I pulled on my socks and headed out to the living room where both Lance and Veronica were waiting.

“Are you ready?” He said with a hand on his hip.

“Yes dear.” 

We headed back over to Shiro and Adams’. It was still dark out, I didn’t understand why we had to be up so early on a holiday. Those two talked the entire time, Lance mainly explaining his plan for the food and Veronica adding in little things as he went.

When we got inside, Adam sat all of us down in the living room, ready to give the pep talk. “Guys, this is going to be a big dinner, there will be ten people eating, so I got a lot of food, Hunk and Shay will be here in about an hour, I could use more than two of us in the kitchen today. Pidge and beezer will be here at eleven, and my parents will be here at noon. Keith, I need you on Takashi duty, you know how he gets when my parents come to visit, Lance, obviously you’re in the kitchen with me, and Veronica honey, you can just do whatever you want.”

“Lucky,” Lance grumbled as she stuck her tongue out at him

I took Shiro with me outside, sitting back on the bench Lance and I had been sitting on the day before. We just sat in the silence, the sun beginning to spill over the hills off in the distance, hopefully, today will be a little warmer than yesterday. The wind blew softly through my hair sending chills down my back.

I was just about to say something when Shiro spoke, “So, how has therapy been going lately?”

I wasn’t quite sure how to answer that, I mean therapy was going well, but with all of the crazy dreams and seeing things, it felt like a lie to say it was going great. “Fine, I guess.”  
“Just fine?” He asked shifting himself to face me.

I looked down, I really wasn’t sure if I wanted to tell him about anything yet. “Yeah, just fine, I, I haven’t really been making much progress lately, but I’m working on it.” It felt dirty to lie to him, I was supposed to be telling him everything, but I was starting to revert back to my old ways.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure everyone plateaus at some point, you just need to keep with it.” Either he had been gone for so long he couldn’t catch my lies, or he was choosing to keep it to himself, and I had a strong feeling it was the second one.

“Yeah, you’re right.” A slight smile graced my lips, “that’s actually the same thing Dr. Sanda tells me.”

He chuckled, “Well, then that just means I’m right.” He puffed out his chest. We both laughed.

The cold November air chilled us to our core, so we decided it was time to head in. We were both shivering as we entered the house, the smell of the turkey mixed with all of the simmering sides smacking me in the face. We both looked at each other and smiled as we raced to the kitchen.

Lance and Adam were rushing around the kitchen basting the turkey and stirring different things in the many pots littering the stovetop. I leaned over Lance’s shoulder inhaling the mouthwatering smells I loved so much this time of year. I tried to sneak a bite, but Lance smacked my hand away with his spatula.

“No hasta la cena, you can go hang out with Nica in the living room, she’s already been trying to sneak food too,” He scolded.

Hunk walked into the kitchen rubbing his eyes, “Mornin’ everyone.”

“Good morning,” We all said at once.

“Where’s Shay?” I asked looking around his shoulder.

He pointed to the living room where Shay was sitting with Veronica whispering about something. “She’s having some girl time, she doesn’t get it often, so she takes it any chance she gets.”

“Oh no you don’t, Takashi, get back here you little...” Adam yelled. I turned around just in time to catch Shiro running out of the kitchen with a bun.

“But Adaaaam, I’m so hungry,” He groaned before slamming his bedroom door and locking it.

Everyone in the kitchen busted out laughing while Adam sulked back defeated. These were the things that kept me coming back, my family and friends, good food, time well spent around a kitchen table making memories, this was what I lived for.

Pidge, Beezer, and Adam’s family showed up and dinner was about to be served. A couple of us gathered in the kitchen, ready to take the food out to the table. We piled the food into our arms and headed out.

Finally, it was time to sit down and eat. Adam and Shiro sat towards the end across from each other, then it was Adams parents’ George and Melissa, Maggie, Pidge and Beezer, then on the Shiro’s side, me and Lance, and Hunk and Shay.

We said grace and started to dish out the food, and man was I starving. I grabbed a little bit of everything, turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, rolls, etc. I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into it. The last bowl came around, but just I was about to take my first bite the doorbell rang.

The room fell silent as Adam got up to answer the door, we weren’t expecting anyone else. The dining room had an open concept, so you could see the door from the table, or at least I could. The door opened with a loud creak, probably from the silence still lingering in the room, and there stood...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have had like zero time to write over the last couple of days, but I'm still here.


	7. Thanksgiving At The Shiroganes' Pt.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith meets a ghost from the past, but what does she really want?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith then Lance then back to Keith

~Keith~

The door opened with a loud creak, probably from the silence still lingering in the room, and there stood... a woman, tall as can be but somehow still petite, her long plum colored hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, bangs swept to the side of her face. Her eyes were the same color as mine a deep amethyst.

“May I help you, ma’am,” Adam asked.

“Is Keith here?” She looked around his shoulder at the dining table scanning until those eyes came in contact with mine. The corners of her mouth turned upwards, the glisten of a single tear rolled down her cheek.

I stood up never breaking my eye contact with her, I felt a slight tug at my shirt but brushed the hand away as I walked over to the strange woman asking for me at the door. “I’m Keith,” I answered nervously. Was I in trouble? I don’t remember doing anything. Why was I so curious to know who this woman was?

She grabbed me by the shoulders and pulled me into a hug. “I’ve missed you so much,” She cried as she squeezed me harder, she had an inhuman strength that almost took my breath away. She smelled of cigarettes and gunpowder.

I panicked and pushed her back. “W-what do you mean you m-missed me?”

“I… Keith I’m… I’m your mother.”

Those few words were all it took for everything to start going black, it felt as though the earth was pulling me towards it like it was swallowing me wholly into its abyss. The last thing I heard was everyone screaming my name before everything went silent.

~Lance~

There was a random lady at the front door and she oddly looked a bit like Keith. She asked for him which was strange, what had he done that there was someone like her asking for him and on Thanksgiving of all days?

He stood up and I could see the fear in his eyes, so I gave his shirt a slight tug to make sure he was okay, but he brushed my hand away as he walked over to her.

She grabbed him by the shoulders and I stood up ready to fight her if need be, I don’t want to brag, but I’ve been taking some self-defense classes, and I was getting pretty good at it. But she didn’t hurt him, no, this was much weirder, she pulled him into a hug telling him she missed him so much. I had never seen this woman in my life, so how did she know my Keith.

I could tell he was starting to panic, I could see the tremble in his body, the way he pushed her back, the stutter in his question.

“I… Keith I’m… I’m your mother.”

He stood there for a moment, but I could tell something was wrong. I ran to him just in time to catch him as he fell to the ground. Everyone screamed his name at once as Shiro rushed over to help me safely place him on the ground.

“Keith… buddy, can you hear me?” I looked at his lifeless face, he was out cold. I looked up to the woman standing in the doorway, she had her hands over her mouth. “Why did you come here?” I yelled.

“I… I just, I just wanted to see him again… I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” She cried, tears now streaming down her face.

I stood up, dang was she tall, I mean I’m tall, but I still had to look up just to make eye contact with her. “Listen, I have worked very hard over the last few years, you are not going to just come in and ruin everything. He finally got over you abandoning him and now you just show up out of the blue because you just wanted to see him? I DidN’t MeAn foR ThIS tO HaPPEn, well it did, are you happy now?” I was mocking her at this point I was so furious.

She stood frozen, her gaze dropping to the floor. A hand came to my shoulder and I suddenly remembered all of the people sitting in the dining room listening to me. Shit, I think I might have gone too far.

I turned to see Shiro and Adam both standing behind me, Adam with his arms crossed and Shiro with his hand on my shoulder.

“Lance, calm down, I can take it from here,” Shiro said guiding me around to the couch where Keith was now laying.

“Fine.” I gave her one last look before crouching down next to Keith.

“I am Keith’s brother Takashi Shirogane.” He offered his hand.

She shook it, still not making eye contact with either of us. “My name is Krolia, I didn’t know Tex had any other kids.”

“No, no, I’m his adoptive brother slash guardian, I adopted him finally his senior year of high school, but we still like to call each other brothers rather than dad and son, it would be too weird.” He explained.

She looked a bit confused but continued on. “Look, I know you all have some choice words for me, but I have come to try and make amends, please just hear me out.”

“And why should we do that,” Hunk said pushing his way in between Shiro and Adam. “Do you have any idea what he’s been through because of you?”

“Yeah, I don’t think you even deserve to see him, we should be kicking you out of here right now,” Pidge yelled from behind them.

“Enough guys.” Shiro’s voice rang through the house as everyone fell silent. “This is not our decision to make, this is for Keith to decide.”

I bolted to my feet. “But you’ve seen first hand what she’s done to him if she never would have left…”

“Then none of us would have ever met, you wouldn’t be his fiance, I wouldn’t be his brother, hell I probably never would have gotten with Adam if it wasn’t for him.” He sighed, “As much as I hate what she did to his mental state, everything had to happen for a reason, for all of us to be here together today. I think we should hear her out, we can at least do that, right?”

Damn, I hated when he was right, I wouldn’t be marrying the love of my life if she never would have left. “Fine, but if Keith wants her to leave, she’s leaving,” I demanded.

“It’s only fair,” She answered.

~Keith~

I opened my eyes, the panic setting in almost instantly as everyone’s faces unblurred. I bolted upright grabbing at my chest. My heart was pounding so hard it hurt, I thought I was having a heart attack. I felt a warm hand to my cheek and looked over to see Lance sitting beside me.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” He said in a calming voice.

“W-what happened… when did I p-pass out?” I was having trouble getting out the words I wanted to say as I wiped the cold sweat from my brows.

He didn’t say anything he just looked across the room to the dining room. I followed his stare until I landed on the strange woman sitting with Adam’s parents. When she turned around everything came rushing back, I felt my body getting heavy, I thought I was going to pass out again, but I fought it, pulling myself back out.

“Why have you come here?” I finally got it out.

She stood up and walked towards me, but Pidge, Hunk, and Lance moved in between us, blocking her from coming too close. “You can talk to him from there,” Pidge said with her hand up.

“Guys, she’s not going to kill me.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Lance said.

“It’s fine, I understand that you will all hate me.” There was a slight quiver to her voice. “I know nothing I say will make anything better, but I’m so sorry I left…”

“If that’s all you’re going to say then you can leave.” I didn’t want to hear an apology, I wanted to know why she left, why her job was so much more important than her own son. 

“Why did you leave?”

Her eyes snapped up to meet mine, but only for a moment before they were back down to the floor. “My job demanded it.”

I scoffed, of course, she would say that. “And what job would that be, what was so important that you gave up your family for it?” The sickness was being replaced with a blood-boiling hatred. I thought of everything I’ve ever wanted to say to her throughout my life.

“I… I can’t tell you, not here, it’s not safe to say it in front of everyone.”

“If you want to tell him, you tell him in front of all of us.” Lance placed his around my waist and locked me in, intertwining his fingers.

“Then I can not tell you, I can not take the risk.”

“What! You said you would explain everything,” Lance was furious, the little vein in his neck was starting to pop out.

“Yes, to him, I can’t risk telling everyone I barely even know you, I don’t even know half of your names.” She reached her hand inside her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “If you want to know everything, meet me at this address tomorrow at five, alone.”

Pidge snatched the paper from her hands and threw it on the ground. “He’s not going anywhere with you alone.”

“Guys, remember what I said, this is Keith’s choice to make, not ours, we can’t…”

“I’ll be there.” I interrupted. “Hand me the paper Pidge.” Everyone turned to look at me, stunned looks on their faces, but I didn’t care, as much as I hated that she left, I also wanted to know why. If that meant meeting with her alone, then I would meet with her alone. Pidge angrily handed the piece of paper over to me with a couple little grumbles of something under her breath.

Lance made a bunch of inaudible noises before finally putting together a full sentence, “You are crazy if you think I’m going to let you go alone, what if something happens to you, what if I’m not there and you get hurt, Keith I…” 

I put my finger up to his lips, looking directly into his eyes. “Lance, I’m going to be fine I promise.”

“Fine, but you owe me for this stress you’re causing me.” He grumbled quietly.

“I’m sorry for ruining your Thanksgiving, I should probably go now, I’ll see you tomorrow then, Keith?” Krolia said with a sort of weird smile.

I nodded and watched her head out the door. I threw myself back as everyone started yelling at once. Lance was telling me he was going to follow me to make sure I was okay, Pidge was yelling obscenities while Beezer tried to calm her down, Hunk was politely trying to tell me how dumb I was, and Adam was scolding Shiro for even allowing any of it.

“Guys… guys… GUYS!” I screamed, no one would listen to me, and it was starting to get on my nerves. Everyone stopped, I could hear the fly buzzing around in the kitchen, it got so quiet. “Listen to me… I have waited my entire life to hear her shitty excuses, to know the reason why she abandoned me and my dad all those years ago. I love you all for caring so much, but some things I need to do on my own.”

Lance threw himself at me pulling me into a hug. “I’m so sorry, I think I was being a bit overprotective.”

“Only a bit?” I laughed.

“Do what you need to make yourself happy, I’ll be waiting for you when you get home.” He squeezed me one more time before letting go.

“We’re sorry buddy, right Pidge,” Hunk said elbowing her.

She sighed, “Yeah, yeah, I’m sorry and junk.”

I chuckled, “Thanks, guys.”

This time everyone came in for a group hug, and by everyone, I meant everyone even Shay, Beezer, and Adam’s parents joined in. It felt good to know I had so much support through my family and friends, I really loved them all.

“So, should we finish eating now, I’m starving,” Hunk said with a smile.

“Oh my gosh, my dinner, I know I did not spend all morning cooking for no one to eat it.” Adam protested. “Everyone get in the dining room and eat before the food gets too cold.”

It felt like nothing had happened, like my long lost mother hadn’t just shown up and almost ruined our dinner, like we hadn’t just been fighting. It went back to how things were supposed to be today, just a family sitting around a table, enjoying a nice holiday meal together. I was lucky to have finally found a family to call my own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh plot twist Y'all, I wonder what she could be hiding.


	8. The meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith goes to talk to his mom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith then Lance

~Keith~

I didn’t sleep much last night, my brain thought it was a good idea to play through every possible scenario of tonight, I even fell asleep at work. As I drug myself into the kitchen after work, I heard arguing. It sounded like Lance was talking to someone on speakerphone. I shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but I couldn’t seem to pull myself away from the conversation, so I hid around the corner and tried to listen in.

“I don’t care what you said, this is dumb and you know it,” Lance yelled.

“You don’t think I know that, but it doesn’t matter, he made his choice and you need to support him.” It was Shiro.

”But we don't even know this woman, how do we even know she's his actual mother, huh?” The tremble in his voice made my heart drop. It’s not like I wanted to hurt him, I just needed answers no matter how much they hurt.

“That’s not our business, he’s an adult, he can take care of himself.”

“Oh, like he took care of himself two years ago?” The voice on the other end of the phone fell silent. “I will not stand back and let this woman hurt him any more than she already has, I won’t let him go, I… I can’t.” Those last few words came out like someone had punched him in the gut.

A sigh came over the speaker, “Lance, I… I think…”

“NO! I’m done listening to everyone else when Keith gets home I’m going to tell him I don’t want him to go, I’ll lock him in the bedroom if I have to.” Shit, I had to get out of here before he found out I was home.

I grabbed my keys back off the table next to the door and snuck out. I ran down the hallway and to the car as fast as my legs could carry me. I sat in the driver's seat catching my breath for a moment before I started my long journey.

The address she had given me was for a motel a couple cities over, but it was an hour long drive to get there, so I stopped and got something to eat on my way, I was still hungry on a count of not being able to enter my own kitchen, due to fear of kidnapping by my own fiance.

I was five minutes out from the motel when my phone started ringing off the hook. First, it was Lance, then Shiro, then Lance a couple more times, even Pidge and Hunk called, so I finally answered him.

“What,” I snapped. Wait, why did I snap at him, was it because I was mad at him about not wanting me to come here? Agh, I wish I could take it back. Just tell him you’re sorry dummy.

“Where the hell are you?” He cried.

“I went to go see her.”

“But I thought you were coming home first, I was going to tell you…”

“Not to go…” I interrupted. “Yeah, I heard everything you said to Shiro when I got home, something about locking me in our room so I couldn’t leave.”

“Shit,” He panicked, he knew why I was mad now but was I really that mad, he was only trying to look out for me, but he was also trying to keep me from finding things out about my mother. “Look, Keith, I’m just being cautious, I... I love you and I don’t want you to end up getting hurt again.”

“I’m an adult, Lance, I can take care of myself, just please don’t worry about me right now, I’ll call you when I’m done here, I love you.” I pulled the phone from my ear, before he could say anything to stop me, and smashed the end call button. Damn it, I was going to be hearing about that one later.

I pulled into the motel, the car bounced around from all the potholes and cracks in the parking lot. I parked the car in front of the door with the same number on it as the slip of paper I was given.

I got out of my car and made my way up to the dingy red door. I only had the chance to knock once before the door flew open, Krolia standing in the doorway with a smile on her face.

“I was hoping you would keep your word,” she said.

“Yeah, well I pissed off my fiancé by coming here, so this better be worth it.” I pushed my way past her and sat down on the bed, the room didn’t even have chairs it was so shitty.

She came and sat next to me, her weight shifting me to the point where I had to catch myself or fall over completely. “I promise, you didn’t come here for no reason, I promised you I would explain everything and I will.” 

She tried to reach out and place her hand on mine, but I pulled away, I wasn’t ready for that, not yet. She pulled back, a loud sigh escaping her lips. “Listen, I only came here to find out why you left, to find out what was so important you had to abandon everything for it.”

“Well then, I guess I’ll start.” She stood up and walked over to the window peeking through the curtains. “Keith, I am a private investigator for the government, I work for a special team called the blade of Marmora and that is the reason I had to leave twenty-four years ago.”

“That doesn’t answer anything, why would you have to leave because of that? Why couldn’t you just find another job? You left me, and then after dad died I didn’t have anyone, and because of that, I’ve been through hell and back and I…”

“Keith... I had to change my name, I had to move to a different country, do you really think I wanted to leave you behind if I could take back my actions I would?” She was back at the bed, I could feel her body heat radiating behind me. “Keith, please I… wait did you say your father died, w-when did that… why d-didn’t I hear anything about it?”

I turned around, tears streaming down my face. I didn’t want to talk about dad, I hate those memories. “You didn’t hear about it because you weren’t there, you never were, he died when I was five, do you know what happens to kids with no parents, they get sent to group homes, foster care.”

“Keith, I had no idea…”

“No, you didn’t, do you have any idea what I’ve been through because you weren’t there? I’ve been beaten, forced to work in sweatshops, abused by people I thought were supposed to be caring for me, and I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been abandoned.” I stood up, trying desperately to wipe the tears from my eyes, but they just kept falling.

“I…”

“I’m done, I thought I wanted to hear your excuses, but I just can’t do this anymore… Lance was right, I never should have come here.” I headed for the door but she stepped in front of me.

“Please just hear me out, just give me a chance to explain my situation, please?” She was begging me, tears staining her cheeks.

I tried to push her out of the way but damn was she strong. “Just let me leave, I can’t take this anymore.” The sickness in my stomach was overwhelming, I wasn’t sure how much longer I was going to last before I was rushing to the bathroom to throw up.

“Just give me one last chance, please?”

“FINE!” I yelled, I wasn’t getting past her anyway. “I’ll give you one last chance to explain, but then I'm leaving for good.” I just couldn't seem to calm down, I could feel my blood boiling, the heat rising up into my face.

She took in a deep breath picking herself up straight. “That sounds fair, I know I didn't even deserve your first chance, so I'm grateful for this.”

She made her way back to the bed sitting down with a heavy exhale. “I don’t just follow around cheating husbands or businessmen trying to evade their taxes, I’m a PI for the most elite assassin team in the country. Twenty-four years ago I was investigating a couple that had been breaking prisoners out. Things got out of hand and they somehow found out who I was, thank god me and your father had never gotten married or they probably would have come after the two of you as well….” 

She turned away, the tremble in her body shaking the entire bed like an earthquake. “Keith, I never wanted to leave you or your father, I would have stayed in a heartbeat if I had the chance, but I couldn’t risk your lives, I couldn’t let you die because of me.”

It hit me like a ton of bricks. She didn’t leave because she hated me, she left to protect me. I guess that kind of sounded like me in a way, leaving to protect the ones I cared about, I see now that it runs in the family. “I…” What was I going to say, I hadn’t even thought about anything before speaking up, my mouth just kind of moved on its own.

“It’s okay, I know I can’t undo the past, but I want to fix the future, I want to be here, to be a part of your life,” She turned back around to look me in the eyes. “Keith, I’ve been waiting for the day I could see you again, I wished it would have been sooner, but…” there was a slight twinkle in her eye, a small glimmer of hope that I would say yes and let her back into my life.

“I… I don’t know if I can do that.” I pulled my gaze from hers, it felt so awkward looking into her eyes when they reminded me so much of my own.

“It’s okay, you can take as much time as you want and if you decide you want to talk, then I’ll be here waiting, at least until I can get a house lined up.”

“Wait, you're going to be staying here?” The heat was coming back into my voice.

“Well, I told you I wanted to make up for not being there for you, so I’m going to move to Altea and be here for you.” She seemed a bit confused, her head cocking to the side slightly.

“But I… you don’t even… what if I decide…” I couldn’t seem to pull together a comprehensive sentence, it was just a jumbled mess.

I didn’t even know if I could forgive her let alone have her move here forever, my head was swimming, the room starting to fade in and out. I felt the contents of my stomach churning and knew I had to get to the bathroom quick. No, I didn’t want to be in this shitty motel room any longer, I would rather puke in the parking lot then spend another minute in this place.

“Keith… Keith, are you okay?” She said chasing after me as I ran out the door.

“Just… just leave me alone ri… right now,” I said gagging.

I tried to hold it in for as long as I could, but it finally came out when I reached the car door. I felt her hands in my hair trying to pull it back, but I didn’t want them there. I pushed at her until she finally fell back. “Just go,” I cried.

With a heavy sadness washing over her face, she got up and made her way back into her room giving me one last look as she closed the door. I was finally away from her, the sickness subsiding, for how long though.

I got into the car taking in a deep breath and trying to wipe the tears from my face. My head felt like someone was doing construction on my brain, everything hurt from my eyes to my throat. What the hell just happened? Why did I agree to any of that? I should have just said no.

I finally calmed down enough and decided I should probably call Lance to let him know I was fine, even if I wasn’t. When I pulled out my phone though, it said that my call was still connected and had been the entire time I was in the motel room.

I pulled the phone up to my ear. “Lance?”

*Click*

Damn it, he heard everything, didn’t he.

~Lance~

I was on the phone with Shiro when I heard the door close, I assumed it meant that Keith was home. I really didn’t want him to go by himself, I didn’t want him to go period, so I was ready to do anything to stop him no matter how much Shiro told me not to.

“I gotta go, Shiro, I’ll let you know how things go, okay?” I ended the call before he could protest any further.

I made my way out to the living room to greet him, but there was no one there. “Weeeeird,” I said nervously, I know I heard the door close and Keith should have been home by now.

I started to get worried when it was a half hour past the time he usually gets home. I first thought to call his work, maybe they were keeping him late and he would just miss the meeting altogether, but they hadn’t seen him since three when he got off.

Now I was panicking, my fiance was missing and I was about to have a heart attack. I called his phone but got no answer, so I called Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk. No one could get ahold of him, and I was really starting to freak out. The last time he went MIA he ended up in the hospital.

Finally, he answered my call. “What!” He snapped. Why was he snapping at me, I was the one who should be snapping at him for making me worry about him.

“Where the hell are you?” 

“I went to go see her.” He still sounded angry, what did I do?

“But I thought you were coming home first, I was going to tell you…”

“Not to go…” he interrupted. “Yeah, I heard everything you said to Shiro when I got home, something about locking me in our room so I couldn’t leave.”

“Shit,” I was in trouble, he wasn’t supposed to hear that, it was in the heat of the moment, I was scared. “Look, Keith, I’m just being cautious, I... I love you and I don’t want you to end up getting hurt again.”

“I’m an adult, Lance, I can take care of myself, just please don’t worry about me right now, I’ll call you when I’m done here, I love you.” And with that, the call ended.

I ran frantically around the house trying to gather my things so I could go after him, but just as I was stepping foot outside the door my phone began to ring. I struggled to pull it from my jacket, my hands shaking, heart pumping. When I finally got it free I looked at the name, Mullet man, yes, I kept it that way, don’t judge.

“Keith, hello… Keith, please talk to me.” But there was nothing on the other end but some muffled sounds that almost sounded like fabric brushing against the mic. He must have butt dialed me, but before I could hang up I heard the sound of a woman’s voice. I couldn’t bring myself to end the call even though I knew it would get me in trouble if he found out, I had to hear her dumb excuses, I needed to know why she couldn’t just tell everyone.

I had to listen carefully because her voice was muffled, but it sounded like she said she was a private investigator for the government, and she had to leave because work demanded it or something. What a load of bullshit, she was just making up excuses for being a shitty mom.

Keith started yelling, he was talking about his dad and then his time in the foster care system. Something about being beaten and abused and… sweatshops, really? 

Yes, it sounds like he’s leaving, I better hang up. But just as I was about to, I heard her begging on the other end. Don’t give in Keith, come home, please I’m begging you. “FINE!” No, what are you doing, just leave.

She started explaining things in better detail, roping me right back in. She works for some kind of government assassin team, who the hell is this lady? Danger? Then what is she doing here, she can’t possibly think they forgot about her.

The line went silent, no one was talking for a good minute, I had to check to make sure I hadn’t hung up on accident. Keith was muffled, but she came through crystal clear this time saying she was going to stay, maybe even buy a house here in Altea. I feel like she probably should have run that past him before actually deciding it. She said she wanted to try to be a part of his life now, what a load, she just wants to be forgiven for leaving all those years ago.

Shiro’s words started to play through my head, “He’s an adult… it’s his choice, not ours.” Damn it, I tried to shake it off, but it was no use, I was already feeling the guilt. How was I going to make up for this?

“Keith… Keith are you okay.”

“Just… just leave me alone ri… right now.” He was getting sick, I could tell by the way he was talking, he sounded like he was gagging. I just wish I could have been there for him, but he probably wouldn’t want me there anyway, I would find a way to screw it up for sure.

I was in full on panic mode, it was driving me nuts that I could hear everything. I could hear the pain in his voice as he screamed at her to go, the sound of him puking over and over again, but somehow my ears missed the most important sound of all, the sound of the phone being pulled from his pocket.

“Lance?”

Shit, shit, shit. I panicked and grabbed the phone as fast as I could and tapped the end call button. Oh no, he saw that I was listening, I’m a dead man when he gets home. I have to come up with an excuse, tell him I… I must have pocket answered him when he butt dialed me, or maybe I could just leave altogether, tell him Allura called me in tonight to cover for Coran, then I wouldn’t have to talk to him when he got home.

“No, You can’t lie to him McClain,” I whispered to myself. “It’s not right damn it.”

What am I going to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I'm so inconsistent on my posting times, but I'm still here, just busy.


	9. Smutty smut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith doesn't want to talk, he just needs to forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance

Lance~

I saw Keith’s car pull up in the parking lot through the bedroom window. I knew he probably wasn’t going to be too happy to see me when he got through the door, so I barricaded myself under all the blankets. I shouldn’t have been so nosy, I should have hung up the second I heard them talking, but I just couldn’t help myself.

I heard the front door open, the sound of his keys thinking against the porcelain bowl next to the door, his footsteps across the floor as he made his way through the apartment to find me. The bedroom door opened with a loud creak. “Lance? Lance, come on, I can see your toes sticking out from under the blankets.” He didn’t sound too angry, maybe he had time to cool down on his way home.

I pulled the blankets down and looked up. He looked like he’d been through hell and back, bags under his eyes, cheeks stain. He slowly came over and sat on the edge of the bed. “Keith, I’m sorry…” he put his hand up and stopped me mid-apology.

“Don’t apologize, it's okay, I thought about it on the way home and… Look, I know you were just trying to protect me and I love you so much, I just really need you right now.” He scooted closer and placed his head in my lap. “I don’t want to fight with you and I definitely don’t want to talk about anything right now, so we can just leave it at that besides you already heard everything.”

I started to run my fingers through his hair, it was really starting to get long, it almost wasn’t a mullet anymore, can I say that I would be sad about it? I sat quietly, my mind racing through question after question of everything I wanted to ask him. I couldn’t hold it back, I had to ask him something, anything.

“Sooo… she’s gonna move here now, huh?” 

His forehead wrinkled and his eyes closed tightly. “Lance, I thought I said I didn’t want to talk about it right now.”

“I know, but I can’t stop thinking about it, like what gives her the right to just move here without asking you first, and what does she think it’s going to accomplish, I mean does she just assume you’re going to forgive her?” I started off on a rant, everything I had thought about in my head suddenly spilled out of my mouth.

When I was finally able to stop I looked down to see a very surprised Keith. He just brought his hand up to my cheek and said, “You’re so cute when you get this way.”

“What, wh- why would you s-say something like that right now?” I could barely get my sentence out, I was surprised to hear it actually make sense as my cheeks grew warmer.

“To get you to stop talking, it worked.”

“You… I can’t believe you,” I laughed as I tickled his ribs.

He laughed, calling for me to stop as I pulled myself out from under him and straddled him, continuing to tickle him, once you get him started he is ticklish everywhere. I moved up his ribcage, across his chest and up to his neck causing him to tilt his head to try blocking my fingers.

I leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead ceasing all laughter and movement. He looked up at me with those amethyst eyes and lifted his head to kiss my lips. Things went from bad to fun to heated in a matter of moments, our lips crashing together in a moment of passion.

The kisses softened as my hands traveled back down his chest, this time not to tickle but to tease. He let out a few moans of pleasure between kisses as my hands ran down his abs to the waistline of his pants.

“La-Lance,” he breathed, his voice low and hoarse.

It drives me crazy when I hear him say my name like that, I’m the only one who’s ever broken him down like this, turned him into a puddle begging me for more. With all he’s been through it’s amazing to see all of his fears and anxieties melt away with just a few kisses. At least in this short moment, he’s thinking of nothing, no one, but me.

“Keith, I love you so freaking much,” I said pulling away and looking into his eyes. His pupils were dilated his breathing heavy as he stared back into mine.

“I… I love you too, Lance.”

It didn’t take long before I was pulling his shirt up over his head, tossing it off into the corner somewhere, clawing at his jeans trying to unbutton them, it was like I was doing this for the first time. He chuckled as he waved my hands away and unbuttoned them as he kissed at my neck.

I was finally able to pull them off, leaving him in nothing but his boxer briefs. “Mm, not fair,” he groaned throwing his head back to the bed, his cheeks flushing a deep shade of maroon.

I giggled, “what’s not fair?”

“I’m almost completely naked and you still have all of your clothes on.”

“And who’s fault is that?” I smiled, biting my bottom lip as I looked over the raven-haired boy laying half naked in front of me.

He looked up at me, his hand slowly traveling up under my shirt, running his fingers along my abs, over across my ribs, and up my chest as he pulled my shirt up. I lifted my arms to help him take it off, I felt his soft lips press against my bare skin, it sent shivers up my spine.

He tugged at the waistband of my sweatpants and I quickly pulled them off, tossing them with the rest of our clothes. He pushed me to the bed now, kissing and licking his way up my neck, nibbling at my earlobe, while I simultaneously lifted my hips, grinding into him with a gentle force. He let out a soft moan into my ear, the warmth of his breath tickling it, causing me to moan back. 

He put his hands on my hips and pushed them back to the bed. “I’m in charge today.”

Oh my god this is hot, why am I so turned on by this, what’s gotten into him tonight, it’s like he’s been possessed by a sex demon or something, but there was no way I was going to ask, I didn’t want any of this to stop. “Whatever you say,” I said putting my hand above my head.

He kissed down my chest, following the treasure trail down to the waist of my boxers. He lifted my hips and pulled them down, the freedom was amazing, before pulling his own off and tossing them in some direction, I wasn’t keeping track anymore. Keith was staring at my cock like he was about to eat it. I wasn’t fully wrong though as he leaned down and licked the tip.

“FuuKeith.” My words seemed to meld together, I was having a hard time paying attention as he licked from the tip to the base before putting his whole mouth around it, he slid down at a painfully slow pace, I wanted to jerk my hips, but a stern hand to my hips held me in my place. 

He began to pick up the pace, bobbing up and down, his lips starting to swell as they shined with a wet glisten. His freehand reaching back, letting out a moan around my cock, the vibrations of pleasure shooting through my body. Keith is freaking fingering himself while sucking me off, why is this the best day of my life?

It was starting to become too much, I was just about to the edge when he ceased all movement. I let out a dissatisfied groan, having been stripped of this amazing orgasm I was about to have.

“Keith, why’d you…” I was quickly cut off when he climbed on top of me, straddling my hips.

He leaned down and practically shoved his tongue into my mouth, the passion that was coming from him tonight was like something you read in an erotica novel, the shy quiet boy taking over in bed as the dominant, god it only made me want it more. He sat back up, making sure to cradle my cock between his cheeks, letting out a soft chuckle before beginning to grind on me. It was great, don’t get me wrong, but I wanted more, I wanted to be inside him, to feel the warm tight embrace as he sucked me in whole.

“I, I want more, please.” Am I begging now, what has he done to me?

He leaned back down, his hair brushing against my cheek, I could feel his hot breath on my ear as he breathed, “more what, tell me what you want.”  


I probably could have cum from just that, but I had to hold it in, I wanted desperately to cum in him, so I had to fight it, I had to ask for it. “I want my cock inside you.”

He bit his bottom lip, grinding into me for a couple more seconds, teasing me, although it felt so much longer as I tried to hold myself back before he grabbed the lube and a condom from the nightstand. He rolled the condom on and coated it with lube, putting some on his fingers and rubbing it on his ass as well.

He repositioned himself and took in one last deep breath before gliding down slowly, it was so tight, it felt like it was sucking me in, it was the most incredible thing ever. He huffed when his ass hit my thighs, sitting there for a few moments waiting for it to adjust to my size, before picking himself up and dropping down hard.

“Holy…” I breathed, all sensors starting to shut down, all I could feel was the pleasure.

Keith was moaning, his voice ragged, his head thrown back as our bare skin slapped together. The heat was beginning to build back up, that twitch returning as Keith fucked himself on me.

I thought I would even the playing field. I grabbed his cock in my hand and started to pump my fist at the same speed as his hips. He let out a deep almost growl like moan, his body coming forward, his hands resting on my chest for support. He opened his eyes, the fire behind them overwhelming. His grin just baring his teeth as he picked up his pace, causing me to quicken mine.

“Lance, I, I don’t think I can h-hold it in much longer.” As he said that he let out the most pornographic noise I had ever heard come out of him, ropes of the white sticky substance spilling out onto my stomach. It wasn’t more than a couple of seconds before I was cumming as well, everything got a lot slicker than it was moments before.

Keith toppled over on top of me, his head resting on my chest, gasping as he tried to catch his breath. There was a small popping sound as my cock was released, the feeling of the warm liquid dripping down onto my hips.

“Keith, you’re smushing it all over and what if it gets on the sheets?”

He chuckled, “I’ll clean the sheets then, just let me lay here for a while.”

“And how long is a while?”

He put his finger to my lips, “Shh, just don’t worry about it, you’re comfortable and I need this.” He hooked his arms under my shoulders and let out a content sigh.

“Fine, but after this, we're taking showers, I feel sticky all over.” There was no answer from him. “Keith?” I could still feel his breath on my chest, but it had slowed, becoming more patterned, he had fallen asleep.

I wrapped my fingers in his hair, massaging his scalp and closing my eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Y'all guess who's back. I'm so sorry for not updating for so long, October got really busy and then I was doing an original WIP for NaNoWriMo, but I hit my goal and I am back. I'm hoping to get back to a somewhat normal schedule for updates, again, sorry for disappearing. Also, this is kind of a short chapter, but they will be longer again, just trying to get back into the flow.


	10. Talking Through My Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has to talk about things, even if he doesn't want to.

~Keith~

It’s been almost a week since I talked to my mom, it was kind of putting a damper on my Christmas mood as Lance set up all of our decorations. As hard as I tried to ignore the thoughts in my head, it was inevitable, but I wasn’t going to let Lance know that, he would only worry and ask if I wanted to talk, which I don’t, at least not to him. I had an appointment with Sanda this afternoon, boy is she going to be surprised when I tell her what happened on Thanksgiving. 

I thought taking a shower would help me relax a bit, Lance was giving me worried looks all morning as I sat on the couch lost in thought, so I figured I’d try to lighten my mood.

The water ran down through my hair, the smell of sea salt and the ocean mixing in as I squirted some soap onto my washcloth, it’s Lance’s favorite because it reminds him of the beach. It was definitely helping me forget my troubles, even if it was only for ten minutes.

I washed my hair with the new stuff, he was very particular when it came to making sure my hair was healthy and hydrated, he even showed me how a couple times, maybe I need a refresher course and then we could… no, stop thinking dirty thoughts, I have to be somewhere in a little bit.

I stepped out of the shower, drying myself off and then wrapping my hair up the way he showed me. I slipped on my grey sweatpants and black top, sitting on the edge of the tub to pull my socks on.

“You look like you’re in a better mood,” Lance smiled as I walked out of the bathroom. He was standing on a footstool trying to hang the mistletoe in the entryway of the kitchen.

“Yeah, just needed a good shower, do you need a hand, I have a few minutes before I have to leave for my appointment?” I walked over and grabbed onto his legs to hold him steady.

He chuckled, “Well since you asked, I could use some help holding these up while I get it started.” He held up a couple strings of lights, red, blue, green, yellow and purple.

“Of course I can.”

The drive to the appointment was just like the others, long and boring, with tons of traffic. I sat in the therapist's office waiting for her to finish with her last client, Ina typing away at the computer, the click-clacking of her keyboard the only other thing breaking the awkward silence aside from the ticking of the clock on the wall above my head.

“You can go in now, Keith,” She said from behind the counter.

“Oh, uh, thanks, Ina.”

I walked down the hall and into the room. Sanda was sitting in her chair behind the desk, gesturing for me to come sit down. I was nervous, I’ve been doing nothing but pushing these thoughts into the back of my mind, but now I was going to have to put them all out on the table.

“How are you doing today, Keith?” She asked in a soft voice. “How was your Thanksgiving?”

“It was… eventful,” I replied, I wasn’t quite sure how to start.

“That doesn’t sound good, did something happen?” She leaned forward resting her arms on the desk.

I took in a deep breath, “Well, my mom showed up.”

She was in shock, trying to mouth words, but nothing seemed to come out. She composed herself, taking a few breaths. “So, your mother showed up, how did that go?”

I let out a chuckle, “It went about as good as you think it did, I passed out and when I woke up everyone was yelling and then she told me she needed to talk to me, but it had to be alone, I don’t know why I agreed to meet with her, it went terribly and now I’m stressed beyond belief and I don’t want to show it around Lance, because I don’t want to worry him, but it’s not really working, he can read me like a book and… and…” I stopped, I was hyperventilating, I could see black spots forming in my eyes, I had to try to calm down.

“Okay, that sounds like a lot, maybe we should slow down and start from the beginning.”

I told her everything, she got lost a few times but caught herself up. Finally, I reached the end, she had a look on her face like none of her clients have ever been through anything like this like she had no idea what to say to me.

“I know it’s a lot, and I’ve been holding it in for almost a week now, I thought it would get easier to repress, but it just keeps resurfacing and I don’t know what to do.”

“Have you thought about giving her a chance to make up for it, I mean, I know it’s going to take time, but if you can get to a point where you can, not necessarily move past it, but deal with her being around, then maybe you can have an actual talk with her.”

“I don’t want to think about that, I don’t want anything to do with her, she left me, I was alone for so long because of her.” I could feel the tears start to form.

She got up and walked around the desk. She sat down in the chair next to me and turned it so she was facing me. “Keith, maybe we should look at it from a different perspective, if she hadn’t left, what do you think your life would have been like?”

“I… well…” I thought about it, I thought about being home with my mom and dad, I thought about what my life would have been like, having holidays spent with the people I loved and who loved me back. But then I thought about Shiro and Adam, how I never would have met my brother, helped push him to be who he was and not what his parents wanted. I thought about Lance and how I probably never would have met him at the arcade, how he would have moved away with his family instead of moving in with me and Shiro.

“I wouldn’t know anyone I do now, I wouldn’t even be here, she shaped my life, no matter how messed up it was, I wouldn’t be marrying the love of my life, and I wouldn’t have the support I do, but I also wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t be riddled with anxiety and depression and maybe I never would have run into Ja...” I couldn’t deal with two things at once, I couldn’t say his name.

“You don’t have to talk to her right away, but I think after some time it might be good to meet with her, also, you need to talk to Lance about this, remember what I said about not hiding things from him, he’s your support, use that support.” She sat back in her chair while I sat trying to process everything.

I thought about it the whole way home. Pidge, Hunk, Allura, Coran, I wouldn’t know any of these people, my friends, if it weren’t for her. I wanted to get home as fast as I could, I had to see Lance, I had to talk to him, I couldn’t keep hiding my fear and stress from him, Sanda was right.

When I finally reached the door I threw it open and pounced on Lance, who was trying to string lights on the tree, knocking him to the floor with a thud. I smothered him in kisses as he giggled.

“What… has gotten… into you, Kogane?” He laughed.

“I just love you, and I wanted to show you how much, so stop struggling, McClain, and let me smother you with my kisses.”

I finally stopped and climbed off of him helping him up. I asked him if he wanted help with the tree and he happily accepted my offer.

We strung the lights around and down to the base, then the garland, and finally placed the ornaments on it. Placing the last few, we both stopped when our hands met at our favorite one. It was just a stupid purple ball ornament, some fancy white embellishments on it, but it had the date we started dating on it, well the date we finally asked each other out properly anyway. He looked up at me and smiled, those ocean eyes glistening under all of the lights he’d put up.

“Do you want to put it on the tree?” He asked, his cheeks blushing.

“How about we do it together?”

He nodded and placed his hand over mine and we lifted it up to the center of the tree, it may be cheesy, but this is how we’ve done it the last couple of years, neither of us will put it up without the other.

We sat down and talked about things after that. I talked to him about my mom, about how I had been feeling the past week, about my conversation with Sanda today. We talked for quite some time like actually talked to each other, I can honestly say that’s the first time in a long time we’ve done that. It got so late we decided to finish decorating another day and headed off to bed.

~The next day~

I got ready for work trying not to wake the sleeping Cuban boy in the bed next to me, he had work later and I wanted him to get as much sleep as possible. I quietly pushed the dresser drawer closed and crept out of the room, grabbing my phone off the nightstand before closing the door. I grabbed a breakfast bar from the cupboard and headed to the front door to get my boots on.

I sat in the parking lot, trying to let red warm up, yes I named my car red because it’s red, sue me. It was definitely a cold one this morning, probably because it was six in the morning, but I wanted to get into work early so here I am.

It looked like there was someone else in the parking lot with me, I guess I’m not the only one crazy enough to go to work this early. They kept walking around looking into the windows of different cars, I was half waiting for them to bust through one of the windows to steal something, probably the only reason I hadn’t left yet.

The person moved closer, surely they’re going to see me sitting in here with all my lights on, they wouldn’t walk up to my car, right? 

They were at the car next to mine, I could just make out the color of the clothes, grey sweatpants, and an orange and grey jacket. What is this person doing, it seems pretty suspicious to be looking into cars at six in the morning.

They turned around, no please don’t look in here, I hate confrontation with people, please just keep walking, but no, they bent down and looked in through the window. This was the first time I was getting a clear look at this guys face and I had to do a double take to make sure my eyes weren’t playing jokes on me. James Griffin stared back at me, his dark brown hair peeking out underneath his hood, those cold lifeless eyes burning a hole through my soul, that grin sending chills throughout my body. I panicked and stepped on the gas, reversing out of my spot and pulling out of the parking lot.

I drove until I reached the shop, only then did I allow myself to scream. There’s no way I just saw what I did, he can’t be here he’s in prison, that couldn’t have been him, I’m just seeing things, yeah it’s just really early and I’m seeing things, I’m just going a bit crazy.

I sat in my car, just trying to catch my breath as I desperately told myself there was no way I was seeing him, there is no way he was just standing outside my car, he was definitely not looking through my window, I will definitely not be telling anyone this, they’re just going to look at me like I’m crazy.

A few deep breaths and a lot of suppressing later and I was finally able to get out of my car to head into work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm having a rough time with this story, so I'm just letting everyone know that I might be updating less again and I'm planning a new fic to post in the next couple of weeks.


	11. The silver-haired Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has a couple of unwanted interactions with the silver-haired man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith, then Lance

Keith~

I held on to the pendant Lance had gotten me for Christmas as I walked through the parking lot. I’ve been pretty paranoid since that morning. Seeing James outside my car was really taking a toll on my mental health, but I didn’t need anyone thinking I was crazy, Lance was already bugging me to tell him what’s wrong.

Bandor was out for the day, so the workload fell on me while Romelle watched the front. The work was hard and there was a lot of it, there always was after a big snowstorm. I ran around the shop grabbing tools, fixing various things, all while trying to keep it as clean as I could so I wouldn’t have to clean it all later.

The bell rang signaling the next car was ready to pull in. In pulled a red Toyota Corolla, the windows tinted so you couldn’t see inside. The door popped open and the person that stepped out of the car was none other than the waiter from the restaurant. His long silver hair falling down around his shoulders bunching up in his hood in the back.

“What seems to be the problem, sir?” I asked just like I did with every other customer.

“My car makes a grinding noise when I step on the brakes.”

“Okay, when was the last time you had your brakes changed on the car?”

“I don’t know, why does it matter, just fix it nave.”

Wow, this guy was just as rude outside the restaurant as he was in the restaurant. Whatever I just have to get it over with and hope to never see the ass again.

I changed out his brakes, which looked like they needed to be changed months ago, and was just getting ready to pull it out when I noticed a slip of paper in the cup holder, with my name on it. I reached down to pick it up, curious as to why he would have a piece of paper with my name on it, but before I was able to pick it up Romelle called my name from around the corner causing me to jump.

“I-It’s coming out now,” I stuttered, taking my eyes off the paper and backing out.

I kept thinking about it throughout the day, it was pretty odd that he had something like that, but I was trying to pass it off that someone suggested me to him and wrote my name on the paper. No need to freak myself out like this, no ones following me, I’m just being paranoid, either that or I’m going crazy.

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly and I was excited for tonight. I was meeting Pidge and Hunk at the castle of lions to have a couple of drinks and hang out.

I stopped by the house to shower and change into something a little less oily, then continued on to the bar. 

Hunk was already there, he had saved Pidge and I seats at the bar, which meant I would get to see more of the hot Cuban bartender. “What’s up buddy, Pidge just texted me and said she would be here in a couple of minutes,” Hunk smiled pulling me into a bear hug.

“You know, the usual, just working and trying to plan this wedding.” 

I sat on one of the bar stools and waved to Allura who was already tapping Lance’s shoulder. His eyes lit up when he saw me and he raced over with a big smile on his face. “Hey, how was work?”

“It was… work, how’s bartending?” I smiled back.

“Fine, but it just got a whole lot better knowing the three of you are here.”

Keith and Hunk were confused until Lance pointed behind them. Pidge was just about to pounce on them, “Dang it Lance, why did you have to give my position away,” she whined, sitting in the seat between me and Hunk.

“That’s what you get for being rude to me the other night.” He stuck his tongue out which in turn got her to stick hers out.

“Okay kids, I feel like I have to be a dad and I’m not ready for that yet,” Hunk interrupted.

“Why, is there something you want to tell us?” Pidge insinuated, pulling her glasses down and looking over them.

“W-woah, woah, woah, nonono Shay is not… how could you even… we’re not even married yet.”

“Speaking of which, when are you going to ask that woman to marry you, it’s been like ages since you guys got together, not to mention all the time before that it took you to even ask her out.”

“Says the one who still hasn’t asked Beezer to move in with her.”

“Shut up, Lance.”

“Make me, gremlin.”

“Keith, help me out here,” Hunk whined.

“Naw, I’m good.”

“Ugh”

A few hours later~

I stumbled through the bar to find the bathroom, I tried to get Hunk to come with me, but he was hung up on a phone call with Shay. The bathroom was fairly empty which was a little weird with how packed the bar was tonight, but it was nice to get some alone time.

I zipped up my pants and stumbled over to the sink to wash my hands. I might have been a little drunk because when I looked up in the mirror I saw that long silver hair again, but this time it was pulled up into a high ponytail. It was starting to become less coincidental that I was running into this guy everywhere.

He looked down at me and scoffed, “What are you staring at, short stuff?”

“Don’t call me short, at leas’ ‘m not a damn giraffe.” I managed to get out.

“Are you looking to get your ass kick tonight?”

“And ‘s gonna do that?” I felt pretty confident in my burn, puffing my chest out as I tried to push past him.

“She was right, you are different when you’re drunk.”

I stopped dead in my tracks, “Who are you talking about?” I was much less drunk now than I had been a minute ago.

He chuckled, “Lost some of your confidence now, have we?”

“Who the hell are you, and what do you want with me?”

“Just an acquaintance of an acquaintance, just make sure you watch your back, Keith.” He almost knocked me over bumping into me on his way out.

Who is that guy and what the hell does he want with me? I composed myself and headed back out to the bar, time to get drunk enough to forget this day.

Lance~

I hadn’t seen Keith in a while, he ordered a couple of drinks after he came back from the bathroom and then disappeared into the sea of people. I was tempted to go looking for him, but just as I was going to ask Allura if I could take a break, I saw him heading towards the patio, only, it was way too cold to be hanging out on the patio this time of year.

“Hey, Allura is it cool if I take my break?”

“Yeah, take as long as you need.”

I thanked her and bulldozed my way through the crowd. I probably should have grabbed my jacket before coming out here, it’s a lot colder than when I started my shift, but it was too late now. Keith was set up at one of the tables, having brushed off one of the seats.

I trudged through the snow until I reached the table, then brushed one of the other chairs off and sat down next to him. “How ya doin’?”

“Jus’ need some air.”

“Do you need to go home, I can have someone bring you home?” He sounds like he’s on the verge of blacking out, it’s been a while since he got that drunk.

“No, ‘m fine, jus’ finish your work thingy.”

Could he already be at that point? “Hey Keith, can I ask you something?”

“Mm.”

“What made you get this drunk?”

“Some guy ‘n the bathroom, he’s like a stalker ‘r sumin.”

A stalker? Okay, don’t freak out, this is probably just drunk Keith seeing things, there’s no way he’s got another stalker, right? “What do you mean by “stalker”?”

“I dunno, he just was at my work today, he had a piece of paper with my name on it, figurd he jus got a reco- reca- remendation, ugh, words suck.”

That’s normal, right? “You know you can talk to me about these kinds of things, right?”

“Mm, ‘m talkin to you now.”

“I mean when your not drunk Keith, I want sober Keith to tell me these things.”

“’s scared.”

“Scared of what.” I waited for an answer but it never came. When I looked at him he was passed out.

I got up and shuffled over to him, hoisting him up, throwing his arm over my shoulder and dragging him inside. I found Pidge, but she was almost as drunk as Keith, I ‘m gonna have to call Beezer to come pick her up, oh and maybe he could drop Keith off too. I didn’t want to just put Keith anywhere, who knows who might come along, so I brought him to the back and propped him up in a chair in the office. “I’ll be back for you as soon as possible, okay?” He was still out cold.

I called Beezer, who answered pretty quick with a, “Hey, I’m already on my way, she’s been texting me science memes for the last half hour, figured she needed a lift home.”

“Yeah, you sure know Pidge, but I was also wondering if you could bring Keith home, he’s out cold in the back office right now.”

“Yeah, no problem man, I should be there in ten.”

“Alright, thanks, I can even help with loading services.”

He chuckled on the other end before hanging up. I looked up at Keith who was still passed out in the chair and smiled. At least I know he’s safe back here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have revived my want to continue this fic. Hope Y'all didn't miss me too much.


	12. A Surprising Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith gets a mysterious letter from an unknown source.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith

Keith~

The lights were so bright, it was hard to open my eyes. It felt like I was in my own bed, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember how I got here. My head was pounding as I blindly felt around for my phone, my hand landing on what felt like a bicep.

“Feeling me up this early in the morning, I figured you’d be too hungover.” Lance nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck.

“What happened last night, how did I get home?” I was finally able to open my eyes and find my phone on the nightstand next to the bed, it was almost noon.

The breath of his giggle tickled my neck. “I had Beezer bring you home, you passed out outside and I had to drag you into the back office.”

I groaned, the vibration only causing my head to pound harder. “I’m sorry, I promised myself I wouldn’t get that drunk again.” I tried to recall the night before, trying to figure out how many drinks I had and why I had so many, but everything was a blur after I got up to go to the bathroom.

“Good thing you don’t have to work today, I’ll get you some ibuprofen and we can spend the day in bed.” He kissed my neck softly, the bed creaking as he got up and disappeared down the hall.

God, my mouth felt like the Sahara desert, luckily Lance grabbed a couple of water bottles on his trip back from getting the meds. He flopped down behind me as I popped a couple of the pills in my mouth, chugging the bottle of water in an attempt to tame the dryness in my mouth.

Lance wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into him, it almost helped my hangover, almost. We laid in bed for a while before Lance decided he was starving. I wasn’t sure if I could eat anything at the moment, but I was willing to try.

The hard part was getting out of bed, it was so warm and cozy and I’m pretty sure I was still a little drunk. Why did I drink so much last night? I made my way to the bathroom, I’ve had to pee for like the last two hours now.

I finally made it to the kitchen where Lance had already begun preparing breakfast. The smell of the bacon sizzling away on the stove was both amazing and sickening at the same time. It’s gonna be difficult eating.

“So, what all do you remember from last night?” Lance asked, mixing the eggs together.

“Not much, I think the last thing I remember is going to the bathroom.”

“Do you remember what happened in the bathroom?”

Why was he being so nosey, oh no, did I say something to him, did I do something wrong, I didn’t make out with someone, did I? No, he wouldn’t be here right now if I did that, stop thinking the worst Kogane, everything’s fine, we’re fine, it’s fine. “Um, no I don’t, why did something happen?”

“I don’t know, you just seemed a bit upset after that and you drank a lot, I was just wondering if something happened that you’d want to talk about, like a weird encounter with someone.”

“I’m sorry, I wish I could remember.”

“Hey, you don’t need to be sorry, I love you, I was just making sure you were alright, that’s all.” He turned around and poured the egg mixture into the frying pan, humming along to our song. It felt like he knew something I didn’t, but I wasn’t about to start anything right now, I was way to sick for that.

Breakfast was hard to swallow, but I was trying my best because I knew it would help me feel better. The only saving grace was the ibuprofen Lance had given me, at least that meant that my headache was gone, now I just needed to rid myself of this nausea. Today was going to be rough.

A month later~

The wedding was getting closer and things were even more stressful now than they were a month ago, why was it so hard to plan one of these things, shouldn’t it be easy?

Shiro was on his way over to hang out. Adam was gone on a business trip for the weekend, so we could actually hang out like old times. I sat in the kitchen waiting for the popcorn to start popping when I heard a knock at the door. I excitedly jumped up from the chair and ran to answer the door.

“Are you excited to see me?” Shiro asked when I flung the door open and hugged him.

“Of course, it’s been a while since we’ve been able to hang out, just the two of us.” I offered to take his jacket and hung it up in the closet next to the door.

“You have a point, we’ve all been so busy since moving out of that house.”

I grabbed the popcorn from the microwave and headed back out to the living room so we could start the movie. We chose a scary one, we used to watch horror movies together before we met the others. That and I loved watching my brother scream his head off like a little girl. He acts so tough all the time but when it comes to my movies I can turn him into a sniveling child.

About an hour into the movie I hear another knock at the door, I didn’t remember inviting anyone else to the house, but sometimes the others drop by when Lance isn’t home to keep me company, so maybe it was one of them.

I told Shiro to wait for me, he was reluctant as he was sitting in the dark watching a scary movie, but he nodded and I walked off to the door. When I opened it a cold breeze wafted in causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end, only, there was no one there. I leaned out into the hall and looked both ways to see if they had just been too impatient to wait, but nothing.

I was just about to shut the door when I saw a piece of paper hanging from the door. I peeled it off and read it, trying to make sure Shiro couldn’t see me. It read:

Hey Baby,

You haven’t forgotten about me yet, have you? Don’t worry, I’ll see you again soon.

Sincerely,

Your one and only

My heart dropped into my stomach when I saw the small heart next to ‘Your one and only’, it was drawn the same way James used to draw them when we were dating, the handwriting was the same too. How did this get on my door, who put it there? I crumpled it up and threw it in the bin next to the door, this was the last thing I needed when I was trying to relax.

I tried to shove it to the back of my head and headed back to the couch to finish watching the movie, hoping Shiro couldn’t see the fear written all over my face. 

“Are you okay?”

“W-What?” I looked up from the empty bowl sitting in my lap.

“I asked you if you wanted to watch another movie, are you doing okay.”

“Oh, um, yeah, I’m fine, just a little distracted I guess.” I tried to give him my best fake smile, hoping it was convincing enough for him to drop the subject.

He sighed, which probably meant he didn’t believe me. “Do you want to watch another movie otherwise we could figure something else out, maybe video games or something?”

“I’m sorry, let’s play some video games, maybe that will help me clear my mind.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

I was relieved when it was time for Shiro to go, not that I really wanted him to leave, I just didn’t want him to start asking questions again. Besides, everything was fine, someone just put a note on the wrong door, it couldn’t be James, he’s not allowed to contact me.

When I finally got him out the door, I closed it and collapsed against it, having guests was exhausting. I looked over to the bin next to the door, the piece of paper being the only thing in it. I pulled it out and uncrumpled it, reading it over once more, staring at the stupid little heart drawn on the page, mocking me with its similarities.

I brought it into the kitchen. I ripped it into tiny bits and tossed it into the sink. I grabbed the lighter out of the bottom drawer and lit them all on fire. It was sort of comforting watching it go up in flames, although, Lance was not too happy when he walked in and saw the sink on fire.

“What the hell, Keith?” He yelled, rushing over to turn the faucet on and douse the flames.

“Sorry, I uh… I found an old letter from… I just wanted to get rid of it.” I couldn’t bring myself to worry him with this right now, I don’t even know what’s happening myself.

“Okay, that’s good and all, but can you please not start fires in the apartment, maybe bring it outside or we could find other ways of disposing of it.”

“No, you’re right, I’m sorry, I won’t set fires anymore.” Because hopefully, I won’t be getting any more letters like this.


	13. He's What???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of things happen at three in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance, then Keith, then Shiro

Lance~

I laid awake, staring at the glowing stars on the ceiling as Keith slept soundly next to me. Something felt wrong, It felt like I had this knot in my chest and it was making it hard to breathe. Keith hasn’t been the same since that night at the bar, he says he doesn’t remember, but maybe he did. ‘Quit thinking stuff like that, he’s not lying to you, he wouldn’t do that, not again.’

I looked over to the sea of raven locks twirling themselves around my arm and couldn’t help the sudden rush of fear and sadness washing over me. Who the hell was he talking about when he was talking about the guy in the bathroom, why was he so paranoid this last month, and what the hell was on that piece of paper he set on fire in the kitchen sink?

Rolling over with a whispered moan, trying not to wake Keith, I knew there was no way I was sleeping right now. I wanted to talk to him, I wanted to know everything was okay, but I knew if I pestered him anymore he would shut down completely.

Slowly pulling my arm out from beneath him, I somehow slipped out of bed and snuck my way to the kitchen, maybe a midnight snack will help me.

I opened the cupboard and grabbed out a pack of pop tarts, not exactly the healthiest thing to eat at three in the morning, but it was something to get my mind off of things.

“Shit!” I dropped my pop tart on the floor and it scattered across the kitchen floor. Great, now I have to sweep.

I carried the dustpan to the garbage to dump it, but when the lid popped open I paused. There, sitting on top of everything, was a piece of burnt paper, half of it missing, but some of the writing still intact. I could just barely make out what it said, ‘You haven’t forgotten about me yet, have you?’

What the hell is this, is this how they used to… oh yeah, this is how he used to talk to Keith. I could see now why he decided to set it on fire in the sink. I tossed it back in the garbage and continued on eating my remaining pop tart I hadn’t dropped on the floor. And that’s when I heard the footsteps…

~Keith~

The bed creaked and groaned, the warmth disappearing leaving me cold. It was pitch black which meant it was the middle of the night, what could Lance be doing this late at night? I rolled over and tried to pass back out, but now that I had opened my eyes, my body assumed it was time to get up.

I grabbed my phone off the nightstand and blinked furiously until my eyes adjusted to the brightness of the screen. It was three in the morning, I should have still been sleeping for another couple hours, but now I was curious as to what Lance was up to.

My footsteps shuffled across the wood floor as I made my way through the house looking for Lance. Finally, I found him, shoving a pop tart in his mouth in the kitchen. He froze when he saw me in the entryway and tried to smile with the pop tart still hanging from his mouth. It made me giggle, he could be such a dork sometimes, but finding him at three in the morning shoving pop tarts in his mouth was adorable.

“Is that good?” I asked, joining him at the table.

“Yus, ish gud.”

I chuckled, “Well, that’s good, I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” Silence, awkward silence, like before they started dating and he was a gay disaster awkward. “Sooo… what are you doing up, aside from eating a pop tart in the dark?”

“Well, I was going to eat two of them in the dark, but I dropped one so now I’m only eating one.” He looked across the table and smiled. It seemed fake like he was hiding something from me.

“Is everything okay?”

“Fine, yes, everything is great, not a care in the world.”

Now he really was lying to me, how could he have no care in the world with the wedding coming up in a month? “Lance, stop lying, I know something’s wrong.”

He groaned, “Okay, maybe everything is not okay, maybe I’m stressed about the wedding and maybe I’m worried about a certain someone because he’s acting the way he did when James was around and all I can do is hope he will come to me before something bad happens, but it’s tearing me apart inside and I just want to know you’re okay.”

Shit, I really didn’t want to talk about this right now, why did I have to get out of bed, why did I have to ask him if he was okay. “I… I swear, everything is… f-fine.”

“You tell me not to lie, but here you are lying to my face, why can’t you just tell me what’s going on?” No, not the tears, I can’t handle the tears right now, please don’t cry, Lance.

“I’m sorry, I don’t really know what’s going on right now, but I don’t really want to talk about it.”

Cue sardonic laughter, “Oh, you never want to talk about it, you never want to talk about anything, I hate that I have to walk on eggshells around you just so you don’t shut down again.”

He’s pissed and he has every right to be, yes I don’t like talking about things, but if I’m going to talk about it with anyone it should be him. I need to make things right, I need to tell him something, anything, “I’m sorry okay, I can’t help that my life is a fucking disaster, with this god damn wedding planning.” What the hell was that, that is not what I wanted to say, why am I suddenly so angry at him?

“Okay, I get it.” No, don’t do that, don’t pull away like that, I’m sorry, please sit back down. “Since the wedding is what’s stressing you then we will just call it off.”

Wait, no, stop walking to the door, please don’t put your shoes on, why are you opening the door. “I’m sorry for causing your life to be such a fucking disaster, but don’t worry, I won’t be bothering you for a while.”

SLAM!

I fell to the floor, tears flowing out like the Niagara Falls. I smashed my fists into the floor, the pain jolting up my arms, but I didn’t care. Why was I such an idiot, why couldn’t I just tell him, why couldn’t I tell him to stay?

No, I can’t let him leave like this, I can’t let him walk away because of my own stupidity, I have to go after him. I picked myself up from the floor, grabbed my jacket and ran out the door.

~Shiro~

I walked through the house to the kitchen, I needed a glass of water and stat. The kitchen was dark so I used the flashlight on my phone to light my way to the cupboard to grab a glass, then over to the sink to fill it.

Scrolling through my facebook feed, it was quickly interrupted by a phone call from an unknown number. I don’t usually answer those calls, but something in my brain told me it was important.

“Hello, this is Takashi,” I answered putting the phone up to my ear.

“Before you hang up, I have something very important to tell you.” This voice sounds familiar, but he can’t quite put his finger on it.

“Who exactly is this?”

She was hesitant on the other end, he could hear her breath hitch as she spoke, “K-Krolia.”

This got my blood boiling, I could deal with most things, but a phone call, from the person that abandoned my brother, at three in the morning, was not something I was ready to deal with. “Look, I know you two talked and all, but that doesn't mean-“

“I know I shouldn’t be calling you, but this is serious, Keith might be in danger.”

That got my attention, got me asking her, “What kind of danger?”

“I’ve been doing some research and I came across something unsettling.” There was a short pause. “Did you know James Griffin?”

“Where the hell did you hear that name?”

“Well… I’ve seen the arrest records, for the first and second offenses.”

Who is this woman? “How did you get the arrest records?”

“I need you to know that I’m pretty sure James Griffin is not still in that prison.”

It took a moment to process, did I really just hear what I thought I heard? “What do you mean pretty sure, how would you even know something like that?” Hearing his name was enough to send me over the edge, but to hear that he was possibly running around the town got me scared.

“I’ve been following a couple that helps people escape from prison, I have reason to believe they came to this town to set him free.”

“Why James, why would they come here to set him free?”

“Well, as long as the person has money, they’ll set anyone free.”

I was not ready to relive this nightmare, to possibly lose my brother for good this time. 

“Where is Keith?” She asked abruptly.

“H-he should be at home with Lance, sleeping,” I answered.

“Call him, make sure he’s okay… I would, but… you know.” Her tone had fallen, she was clearly upset, but she had done it to herself.

“I will, thanks for the warning.” I hung up and immediately dialed Keith’s number.

Ring ring, ring ring... ring ring, ring ring. No answer. I hung up and dialed again, still no answer, so I called again.

After the fifteenth time of trying to call him I was starting to panic, should I go find him, do I show up at their place at four in the morning? Maybe I should try calling Lance first.

“What do you want, Shiro?” He answered swiftly and angrily.

“Well, it’s nice to talk to you too, where’s Keith, are you with him?” I couldn’t help the panic in my voice.

“We got into a fight, I walked out, I’m going to Hunk and Shay’s for the night.”

Shit this is bad, he shouldn’t be alone right now, he can’t be alone right now. “No, Lance, you have to go back to the house, you have to find Keith and not let him out of your sight.”

Lance groaned on the other end, “I really don’t want to talk to him right now, why do you sound so freaked out?”

“Because James isn’t in prison right now, he’s somewhere in town, I’ll explain everything later, but right now top priority is keeping Keith safe,” I snapped.

“Well, why the fuck didn’t you start off with that, I’m on my way back to the house now.” The call was disconnected and that’s when I heard the creak of the floorboards behind me.

I spun around to see Adam’s terrified face, his hands clutching the doorway. “Did you just say James is free?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh oh, I forgot to post chapter twelve, so lucky for Y'all, you get two chapters this week.


	14. Find Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't let Keith out of your sight.

Keith~

Running through the streets, the only thing on my mind was that I had to find him, I couldn’t let him leave like that, I would find him and tell him everything. All I hoped was that he would actually want to listen to me. I didn’t think I’d left that far behind him, but I couldn’t seem to find him anywhere. My best bet was to probably start looking for him at our friend's places. He’d probably go to Hunk’s first, so I decided to try there.

It felt like forever when I finally made it across town to Hunk’s, I probably should have driven the car, but I was so flustered when I left, that I wasn’t really thinking logically. The car was gone from the driveway, but maybe Hunk got called into work early or something.

I knocked on the door and stepped back, waiting for Shay to answer, but she never came. Maybe she didn’t hear me, so I knocked again. When she still didn’t answer I thought it was strange, but decided to maybe try Pidge’s, since Lance clearly wasn’t here.

I patted my pockets feeling around for my phone, dammit, I must have left it at home. Well, this isn’t good, hopefully, lance doesn’t try to call me.

The streets were so quiet at this time of the day, the street lights guiding me on my journey to the center of town where Pidge’s apartment was. I kept my eye out for lance, hoping I would run into him at some point. I checked all of our favorite late night places, the diner, the arcade, the twenty-four-hour burger joint, but I just couldn’t seem to find him anywhere.

Finally, I reached Pidge’s place. I’d forgotten how trashy this place was, but the gremlin didn’t care about that, all she cared about was her tech. I buzzed for them to let me in, but just like at Hunk’s, I got no answer. Why was I striking out everywhere I went.

I sat down on the front steps, pulling my knees up to my chest, exhausted from walking the entire town and back, and let my head fall into my lap. This was all my fault, I should have just told him, I should have told him about seeing James and that weird guy with the silver hair… Lotor? I should have told him about the strange note on the door instead of lying to him because look where it got me, running the town at god knows what time trying to find him after he called off the wedding and stormed out.

A hand touched my shoulder, it felt nice, I thought for sure it had to be Lance, he had finally found him, but when he looked up...

Lance~

I stormed out. Why? I don’t know. I let my anger get the best of me and now I was stomping through the streets trying to clear my head. Every time I try though, I think about Keith, back at the house, terrified that I wasn’t going to come back and…

My phone rang, I figured it was Keith, but when I saw the screen flash Shiro’s name, I may have answered a bit harshly. “What do you want, Shiro?” Keith probably called him, so he was, in turn, calling me.

“Well, it’s nice to talk to you too, where’s Keith, are you with him?” He sounded panicked.

“We got into a fight, I walked out, I’m going to Hunk and Shay’s for the night.” That was a lie, honestly, I had no idea where I was going.

“No, Lance, you have to go back to the house, you have to find Keith and not let him out of your sight.” This was getting annoying, Shiro was probably just trying to get him to go back for Keith’s sake, but that tone still had him a bit on edge.

“I really don’t want to talk to him right now, why do you sound so freaked out?”

“Because James isn’t in prison right now, he’s somewhere in town, I’ll explain everything later, but right now top priority is keeping Keith safe.”

“Well, why the fuck didn’t you start off with that, I’m on my way back to the house now.” 

My feet moved before my brain could, the next thing I knew I was almost to the apartment. I rushed up the stairs, down the hall, and threw the door open. It was quiet, he definitely wasn’t in the living room. I ran to the kitchen, but still no sign of him, he wasn’t in the bathroom or the bedroom either.

Panic set in. Keith was gone. I could barely hold myself together as I dialed Shiro’s number.

“Hello, Lance, did you find him?”

“I don’t know what to do, he’s not in the house anywhere,” I cried. “This is all my fault, I never should have stormed off, I forgot to lock the door and now he’s gone, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, it’s all my fault, it’s all my fault.”

“Calm down, it’s not your fault.”

“Yes it is, I should have been here, he’s gone because I wasn’t here to protect him because I just had to get angry over something so stupid.” Tears stung my cheeks as I practically hyperventilated, dropping onto my knees on the floor.

“You listen to me, Lance McClain.” This was Adam’s voice, no doubt he stole the phone from Shiro. “None of this is your fault, it could have happened on his way to work, you can’t be with him all the time.” He had a point, he had to work and so did Keith. “But right now, we need to find Keith, so can you pull yourself together long enough to find your fiance?”

He was right, sitting here on the floor crying wasn’t going to help Keith one bit. I wiped the tears from my face with the back of my sleeve and picked myself up off the floor. “We need to scour the town, we can’t miss anything, we have to bring him home.”

“Takashi and I will call the others, we’ll get a whole search party going, everything’s gonna be fine, we’re going to find him.”

Pidge and Hunk texted me after they got off the phone with Adam and Shiro, they, Shay, and Beezer were all out scouring the town. It felt good to know that everyone was helping out, this was a pretty serious problem they had on their hands.

I knew the best chance they were going to have of finding him (if James hadn’t taken him) was to look in all the areas Keith would go. I checked the arcade, the diner, even the twenty-four-hour burger joint we loved, but no sign of him.

The panic attack was coming back, where was this boy if not in all of his favorite places, what made him leave the house if not for James kidnapping him? I needed to slow my breathing, lessen the beat of my heart, because if I didn’t I was going to have a heart attack from all the stress. In through the nose, out through the mouth, anything to calm myself.

We got on a group call through messenger, everyone’s worried faces joining mine on the screen. “Guys, this isn’t working, it’s like he just-” Pidge was cut off by a hand to her mouth, Beezer pointing to what I assumed was my face on their screen. “Sorry, I mean, we need to regroup and think of a new strategy.”

“I’m sure he’s fine, buddy, maybe he just needed some fresh air to cool his head,” Hunk assured me.

“It’s gonna be okay, we’re gonna find him, Lance.” Shiro sounded just as freaked out as I was, but he was trying to be the adult in the situation.

“I know, it’s just, I hope that the last thing I ever say to him is not that I want to call off our wedding.”

“You what?” Pidge screeched.

“Oh buddy,” Hunk added, shaking his head.

“You didn’t,” Adam snapped.

“Okay, I know I fucked up, but something’s been going on with him lately and he won’t talk to me about it and it was really getting on my nerves.” I was trying to defend myself, but hearing it come from my mouth, it didn’t sound good.

“So, you thought breaking off your engagement was a good way to handle the situation?” She may be annoying, but god was Pidge right.

“Look, it’s not my proudest moment, but that’s why I need to find him, that’s why I need to know he’s okay, because…” I was cut off by the lump in my throat, that stinging in the corners of my eyes. “Because I want to tell him I’m sorry, no, I need to.”

“Alright, everyone, meet back at my place, we will reconvene there and come up with a new plan of attack,” Pidge said with a half-assed smile. “Lance, it looks like you’re the closest, so you’re going to need the passcode to get in.”

About ten minutes later, I was walking up to the building, it was about five in the morning now, so it would be getting light out soon. Traffic would start to get heavy, and places would start to fill up making it harder to find him. As I walked passed the alley to get to the door, I heard the familiar sound of someone crying, a cry I was all too used to.

Keith~

When I looked up to see who the hand belonged to, I nearly killed myself trying to jump from the steps. James wrapped his arms around my waist and drug me into the alley next to the building.

I struggled to break free, but his grip would not budge. Anxiety through the roof, I never stopped struggling, my palms sweaty, knees weak, I didn’t care, I needed to escape.

A shot to my side causing me to double over in pain, causing the air to leave my lungs as I gasped for air. My body was slammed against the brick, James’ body crushing into me. “Hehe, you thought you could get rid of me, your brother should have killed me when he had the chance.”

This was no longer a thought of whether I was seeing things or not, he was here and he was either going to kidnap me again or kill me for good. “H-how are you here, wh-who let you out?” I managed to ask.

“Doesn’t matter, I’m here now, baby.” I could feel his breath on my neck.

I got my arm free after realizing he hadn’t been holding it very well but was quickly thrown to the ground, my head bouncing off the pavement. “Come on, baby, did you really think that was going to work.”

“S-stop calling me th-that.” I had to stand up, I had to run for it, it was my only chance at surviving this encounter.

Still groggy from hitting my head, I pushed myself off the ground and willed my feet to move, to carry me as fast as they could away from this nightmare. Although, how fast I thought I was going and how fast I was actually going were two totally different things.

Something came up around my neck, clotheslining me and causing me to fall back into his arms. “Try all you want, you’re not getting out of this, I have some payback I need to dish out, and you’re the top priority on my list, next is that fucking Latino that stole you from me.”

Fuck, no, he can’t hurt Lance, none of this was his fault, he was just an innocent that got pulled into this drama. “Kill me, kidnap me, whatever it is you want from me just take it, but leave him out of this.”

“We already tried that, remember, I ended up in prison thanks to him and that idiot brother of yours.”

I could barely breathe, the object around my neck was tightening with every word he spoke. I tried to pull it away, scratching at my throat, it felt like the nightmare I’d had. Everything was going black, I knew I wasn’t long for this world if a miracle didn’t happen right now.

Just as I thought that, we heard the sound of a couple of drunks loudly stumbling up the sidewalk. The object around my neck released and I fell to the ground as James let go. “I’ll be seeing you around, baby, don’t forget about me.” He whispered into my ear as I lay there on the cold hard cement, coughing and gasping for air.

“Haha, sum people nee to learn how ta drink,” one of them mumbled as they walked by. They both laughed and continued walking.

There I lay, tears cascading down my face, trying to calm myself down before I hyperventilated. All that kept running through my mind was, ‘if only I had told Lance everything, this never would have happened, I would be back home in his arms.’

I picked myself up and collapsed back down against the brick wall, at least now I wasn’t lying face down in my self-pity. I hugged my knees to my chest and dropped my head between them and cried, it was all I could do, I had no one right now.

And that’s when I heard it. “Keith? KEITH, holy shit, Keith, I found y-”

I looked up and met his eyes, dropping my head back down, afraid of what he was going to say when he saw my current state.

“What the hell happened to you, you look like you got hit by a bus?” He was at my side, tearing a piece of his shirt off and using it to put pressure to my head wound.

“I… I’m so sorry, I should have told you everything, but I was scared everyone was going to think I was crazy, I should have just told you and instead I made you mad and now you hate me and it’s all my fault because I’m terrible at this and-”

“Who said that I hated you, I would never hate you, I’m sorry for what I said, I never should have called off the wedding, I never should have stormed out on you, but you need to tell me what happened, because… did you get choked?”

His hands touched the tender skin on my neck and I pulled away, the pain causing me to wince. “It was him, he was here and… and he did this to me.”

Lance blinked, opening his mouth, closing it, then opening it back up to finally speak. “J-James did this to you?”

“I know I sound crazy, but it was him, I saw his face, I…” I paused, unable to find what to say next. “I… I want to tell you everything, I want to tell you I saw him a couple of months back, I want to tell you about the note I found on the door when Shiro was over the other day, I’m sorry I kept it from you, but I love you and I thought I was going crazy, so I didn’t want to tell you and I should have just told you.”

“Hey, hey,” He put his free arm around me and pulled me in. “I love you and I believe you, I have been searching all over town for you, Krolia called Shiro and warned him that James was out of jail and when I didn’t find you at home I panicked, I thought you were gone, I… I thought I’d lost you forever.”

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” My adrenaline was wearing off, my vision was blurring, I felt pain in multiple different areas and my body was starting to get heavy.

“It’s gonna be okay, I’m here now, you’re safe, I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

Those words were exactly what I wanted to hear. My body relaxed, melting into his hold as he lifted me from the ground. “Let’s get you inside.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, hey Y'all, sorry for being so non-existent. I lost my will to live for a couple of weeks there, but I'm hoping to get my sh*t together.


End file.
